


The Legend of Illethai Mobre: The Barrier Between This World and the Next

by monophobian



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Halloween, kogkag halloween
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monophobian/pseuds/monophobian
Summary: In Kagome's new neighborhood, there's a wall. It's been there for years, this massive sheet of concrete stretching across the land, separating a memorial from the neighboring church. One day on her afternoon walks, curiosity has Kagome seeking out the history behind this piece, why it exists, and what the stories around it mean.She didn't expect the stories to be real.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Kouga
Comments: 49
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We're hosting a kogkag Halloween event on tumblr and I set out to start writing the murky idea in my head. My intention was to have this finished and posted through the past week -- but here we are on Friday and I'm now posting Chapter 1. This story has grown far larger than anything I was ever expecting. I have the first three chapters written and am hoping to post a chapter a week until it's done.
> 
> A huge thank you to Madison, misstiph, and beckawrites for their beta services on this fic. All mistakes are mine and they have been valuable in this endeavor. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

“What are you doing for Halloween?” Sango asked as they went through the seasonal aisles. Already, Sango had three lawn ornaments and half a dozen small decor items, all themed for the haunted house she threw every year. It may have only been the first week of October, but she was in high gear getting everything ready to open halfway through the month.

A Medusa head caught Kagome’s eye, the plastic looking like stone.

“Oh, that’s really cool.” Sango joined her as they studied the piece. “It looks like the eyes light up when someone walks past.”

Kagome smiled, checking the bottom for the price tag. $30 wasn’t _terrible_ considering how realistic it looked, but it was still a little more than she was comfortable spending.

“Are you going to get it?”

“Maybe later,” Kagome answered as she put it back, already regretting the decision. But where would she put it? She was never one to decorate for Halloween considering she always went out to other parties. That wasn’t happening this year and this _was_ the first decor piece she really, _really_ liked, but it still didn’t justify the price.

Sango didn’t say anything, but Kagome didn’t have to see her friend to know which look she was currently receiving. Halloween was one of Kagome’s favorite times of the year and she knew why she wasn’t feeling much up to anything right now.

“You going to swing by the house at some point?”

Breathing out a sigh of relief that Sango avoided the topic Kagome wasn’t talking about, she considered the question. “Of course. Is there a specific night I should go?”

“You mean other than Halloween?”

“Yeah, I mean other than Halloween.”

Sango’s silence was not promising to Kagome.

“You know why I can’t do Halloween.”

“But it’s a full moon!” Sango insisted. “ _And_ a Saturday night _and_ we’re gaining an extra hour. It’ll be the best one yet!”

Kagome was already shaking her head. “I know, it’s a great year for Halloween, but I can’t. Not this year. Maybe next year when…”

“When it doesn’t hurt as much?”

It didn’t hurt as much now. Well, not really. It still hurt, but the sharp stabbing pain she used to feel had dulled down to a longing ache. However, mixed with something they used to do together every year, Kagome didn’t want to chance it. “Yeah, when it’s not so fresh.”

“I get it. I hate it, but I get it.” Sango added more lights, these the little green ones they hid along he walking path that she usually had to replace every year after people walked over them. “What about the night before? We usually have a good turnout on Fridays so you won’t be completely alone.”

Kagome fished out her phone, looking over her calendar to make sure she could do that. “I think that might work,” she answered, already adding in the event. “I’ll ask around and see if anyone else wants to come.”

They continued through the store, finally joining the line for checkout when Sango looked at her, really looked at her. Kagome knew what she was thinking and just hoped this wouldn’t be another rehashing of the same conversation she’d been having since the breakup.

So what if it had already been three months? She was allowed to take her time getting over things, especially when it lasted for two and a half years.

“Are you doing anything on Halloween?”

The question surprised Kagome — it wasn’t what she expected. A neat side-step, something she really appreciated. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I considered dressing up and passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters, which I might still do just to have something, but I don’t know if I want to do anything else.”

Sango’s eyes warmed at the idea. “You know, I could probably talk to Kohaku. See if he could work for me instead—”

“No.” Kagome shook her head, killing that idea before Sango finished it. “You love your haunted house and that’s the best night of the year. Don’t stop it for me.”

“Kagome.”

“No, really, I’ll be fine.” At Sango’s pointed look, she clarified. “Really. Not _lie-to-my-friends-and-wallow-in-self-pity_ fine, but _figure-out-something-new-and-fun-for-single-me_ fine. You’ve been doing these houses even before we started dating and I used to do all sorts of things. I can figure it out again and I’ll have a lot of fun.”

They moved up the line, three more customers still ahead of them before they could pay.

“The trick-or-treaters idea sounds really neat,” Sango finally said. “I think there are more young families in your new neighborhood.”

That was one upside of having to move out of the home she’d had for the last year and a half. She might actually get a healthy amount of kids coming up to her door.

“Do you have a costume picked out?”

“Not yet,” she answered, mulling over the idea, “but I’m sure I can figure out something. And I could probably get a few little things to decorate around my door.”

“Don’t forget about carving a pumpkin.”

She _loved_ carving pumpkins. “I could make it a theme!”

The customer ahead of them turned and Kagome’s cheeks heated at her outburst.

“Any ideas?” she asked in a lower voice. “It’ll have to be cheap and easy, I’m starting from scratch here.”

Sango’s answering smile was downright mischievous. “I know just where to start.”

…

There was nothing quite like fall. Walking home from the craft store with a few bags in hand was a much different experience in October than it was in July. The breeze was nice, the air was crisp, and the sun wasn’t beating down on her neck. She could take her time and actually enjoy being outside instead of hurrying as fast as she could while also trying not to soak her clothes in sweat.

Her townhome was shaping up. As she turned on her street, she could see little bits of the decorations she’d been slowly piecing together over the last week and a half. Sango had almost gone overboard with all the DIY ideas she had that wouldn’t break the bank and Kagome had enjoyed doing them. It definitely helped fill the free time she had after work now that she was living alone again. It was a little quiet at first, but she was surprised at how easily she adapted to working on her own schedule instead of catering to someone else’s.

Her wreath became clearer the closer she got, the black leaves and vines a dark background to the purples and greens decorating around. She’d never had a wreath before, choosing her storage space for other things, but with the new space she wanted to have fun. Try new things she’d always wanted to try, but never had.

It wasn’t the new start she knew some people did when their lives shifted and changed, but it was a second beginning she was starting to truly appreciate.

The church bells rang then, signaling the six o’clock hour. At first she had been weary of the chime, but they’d started to grow on her. The somber tone and lingering chime melded perfectly with the autumn air as the trees turned orange and helped keep her grounded when she was working. She was starting to see the charm of the more family-centered neighborhoods over the hustle and bustle closer to the inner areas of the city.

Pulling her keys from her bag, she let herself into her house just long enough to drop off her purchases before heading right back outside. Another walk through the streets was all she wanted — a newly added part of her routine that kept her active.

Kagome wasn’t sure she needed the mental break after her impromptu shopping trip, but her feet were itching to follow their path and move. Maybe she could swing by the deli and pick up something easy for dinner before starting on her next step to complete her Halloween decorations.

People were returning from work as she walked past, nodding and waving hello at the ones who stopped to greet her. It was such a change to get that bit of familiarity with those that lived around her, but that was part of settling down. Kagome hadn’t initially chosen this rental in an effort to settle down, more that she really wanted something she could afford that was different — and wouldn’t have her crossing paths with her recent ex. This worked for that perfectly and if it was starting to have more charm of its own, well, that was a nice bonus.

The park was coming up on her left, something she always loved walking past. Right about now, there would be a pickup basketball game being played on the court and a few of the regulars would be in the dog park to let their pets run. Past that would be another stretch of houses and then she would be at her favorite site — the statues.

It was another park, smaller and less of a recreational area for people to play in. There a memorial was posted, a few statues celebrating historical people had who once lived in this quaint corner of the city, and along the edge of the area were sheets of concrete shooting ten feet up to make a wall. On the other side of the wall were the church grounds that sang her alarm every evening.

The wall didn’t belong to the church and in fact predated both the church and the memorial park. She’d looked around for a plaque or stone that held the story, but never found anything and none of her neighbors had any answers either. She’d always intended to research it online when she got home from her walks, but her mind scurried elsewhere as soon as she walked through her front door.

Pulling out her phone, she tapped a reminder to ping in two hours when she knew she would be home and settling in for the night to look up the history on the memorial. No way she was going to be forgetting that.

As she neared the memorial, she couldn’t help but gaze up in awe at the intricacy of the statues. One of the figures was a man on a rearing horse, the craftsmanship remarkable in the way tension lined the muscles in the horse’s legs. It was an old general who fought in one of the wars, turning the tide to save the town villagers who hadn’t had time to flee a brutal ambush. This wasn’t the only statue for him in the city, but it was one of the oldest.

On the other side of the area stood a man standing over a fallen tree, furs around his shoulders and covering the ground at his feet. There was a shotgun propped on his shoulder and his face was hard and weathered. The plaque told the story of a man who faced a pack of rabid wolves, saving a group of schoolchildren from being torn to shreds.

Kagome always felt uneasy when reading this story, the narrative more sensationalized than the dry history of the previous statue. There was no further information about the wolves or how the children were left alone in the ravine the story took place, only a small addendum that referred her to one of the city’s museum as owner of this particular piece.

Which was another thing that seemed odd. The museum owned the statue and not the city? Granted, there were bits of idiosyncrasies like this scattered throughout, but again, it added toward her lingering doubt of the true story.

Maybe when she looked up the story of the wall, she’d have the time to look into this wolf-hunter as well.

Moving past the space, she approached the wall and reached out, running her hand over the concrete as she continued through the park. There were weeds growing up from the bottom and vines carelessly perched along the top and absolutely nothing else in between. Almost like nothing could.

She didn’t know why this wall fascinated her so much, but it had become such a part of her nightly walks that she couldn’t imagine not thinking about it. Maybe it was because there was no story attached to it that kept the mystery alive.

Her hand fell back to her side as she came to the end of the wall and returned to the sidewalk. She’d continue around this curve in the street, then two more turns would lead her home. The deli would still be open and she wondered if the friendly employee would be working tonight. He hadn’t done anything _too_ much, but sometimes she wondered if his overly-friendly moments were intended to be something else.

Her mind glided along the rest of her walk, following her into eating her dinner and starting on her craft project of the night, not once noticing that the reminder in her phone never went off — or even still existed.

…

It wasn’t until a few days later that Kagome remembered the reminder. She was on another walk, this one on a cool Saturday morning while the neighborhood was still sleepy, just barely beginning to stir. Few cars and fewer people on the sidewalks, the main park only held a scattering of people who enjoyed their early morning runs.

She liked this moment in her week, a quiet walk that let her decompress. She’d pulled on a coat, the air cooler in that dewy morning before the sun had completely risen and warmed up the asphalt. Soon, she’d be pulling on snow boots and mittens — and she couldn’t wait. It would be beautiful. Just the thought of all the twinkling lights and Christmas cheer decorating the neighborhood put a smile on her face. She couldn’t wait to start picking out her own.

As she neared the memorial and the wall, she stopped. Pulling out her phone, she opened her reminders and found nothing. Not a missed one, not a silenced one, not even one she input the wrong date for. Absolutely nothing related to the wall and its mysteries.

That was odd. She could have sworn she tapped it in.

Shuffling off the sidewalk and onto the grass around the general, she started tapping in a new reminder when she stopped. It was early, there was no one around, and she wasn’t in a hurry. Why not look it up now?

Pulling up her browser, it was a few taps on the screen before she was looking up the wall that held all the stories. The first search held nothing, so she tried the memorial’s name. That gave her a few results that explained the history of the memorial — who carved the statues, who picked out the land, when the plaques were added, all general information.

Finally, a footnote at the bottom of an article gave her a bit more to go on.

> _The Illethai Mobre, roughly translated to Great Dam, is older than the city itself. It used to be a barrier of trees and branches too thick to see through until a great storm tore through the foliage in 1849. The Albari people commissioned for the replacement with the monument you see today and it was erected in 1851. Ten feet high and thirty-two feet across, they say the presence of Illethai Mobre keeps the city safe from all misgivings._

Now _that_ was interesting. This concrete was a replacement for a natural barrier? It must have been a sight in its original form.

Why was there no plaque? Where was the story? With the rest of the history around, surely someone must want that story to be told. It would be a neat addition to their little area.

Sliding her phone back in her pocket, she looked back at the wall. Thirty-two feet was an odd number. Why not an even thirty? Though as she looked at it, she could almost see why. It fit the land. Up north of the wall was the ravine the wolf-hunter supposedly found those children, to the south the river. Knowing it had once been made up of trees, she could see how it would have formed naturally to the earth.

Interesting that they called it a dam. She didn’t know much about the Albari, having not grown up in this area, but she knew they were prevalent in the city’s history. Miroku might know more — he always seemed to have a penchant for knowing things like that. Between him and Sango, Kagome was more than confident she could find out what she needed to know, or at least sent in the right direction.

She would have to wait a couple days, though. Tonight was the opening night for their haunted house. There was no way she was adding anything onto this weekend for them.

Moving closer, Kagome continued on her normal walk. The concrete was cold against her palm this morning, nothing surprising, and she slowly continued along the length. What would this look like made of trees? And why would this be necessary?

It had probably been a natural formation. Storms and wind bent the trees as they were growing, decades without any outside interference would add quite the shape. It only made sense that early settlers found a meaning for it. All sorts of things were left up to chance and a belief in magic was a good alternative when one didn’t know the nature behind it.

Still, ‘misgivings’ was an interesting word choice. No talks of evils, just _misgivings_. She wondered why the people had chosen to give it that name.

At the end of the wall, Kagome turned and looked back to the long expanse. Up along the line, she wondered why it was only ten feet high. Surely the trees would have continued growing higher than that. Maybe she could find more information about the commission of the wall and the storm that tore down the natural barrier.

Either way, Kagome was certain there would be some story available for her to find.

…

“The house looks amazing.” Kagome walked through Sango’s home, taking in everything they’d created this year. Even after opening weekend, they were adjusting things, moving items, touching up the decor to enhance every effect they could.

“Thanks,” Sango called from the kitchen. “We had a good opening, but I have to figure out where to move the dry ice bins. They didn’t quite reach everywhere we wanted them to reach.”

“What’s wrong with where they were last year?”

“We used that last year,” came the immediate answer. “You know I hate repeating things.”

Kagome smiled, looking up at the werewolf fixture Miroku had discovered three years ago. It hung from the ceiling and could be programmed to swing out into the doorway. It was one of Sango’s favorites to move around — people could never be certain which doorways were safe.

“How’s your decorating going?”

Kagome turned into the kitchen to see Sango drying the last of the dishes. “It’s going well. A few of my neighbors liked the wreath.”

“I told you it was a good idea.”

“And I went back for that Medusa head.”

Sango’s smile said everything Kagome expected it to say. “And?”

“I _love_ it.” Kagome smiled at the memory of its first day on her porch. “A lot of the kids love it, too. It looks like real stone, it’s made a few of them jump already.”

“Perfect. I can’t wait to see it.”

“Kagome!” Miroku walked in from their garage entrance, pulling her into a hug before she could respond. “So good to see you! I haven’t seen you—”

“Since Monday,” Kagome answered dryly, returning his hug easily.

“Exactly. And it’s Friday. That’s too long.”

Kagome rolled her eyes as Miroku stepped back and greeted his girlfriend by way of a hand on her ass and a smooth kiss on her lips. “Good afternoon, beautiful.”

Sango huffed, a smile peeking on her lips. “Hello, flirt. Wipe down the counters for me?”

Miroku was already grabbing a rag, cleaning off the countertops as Sango put the last pan in the cabinet. “So we’re heading to your house tonight, right?” he asked Kagome. “Sango’s been telling me about the projects you’ve been working on.”

“They’re nothing like what you guys put together here, but I’ve been enjoying them.”

“And I’ve been putting this together for almost ten years,” Sango responded as she washed her hands and dried them on the towel she’d been using. “That’s not a fair comparison.”

“Still,” Kagome said looking around the creepy cave they turned their back den into, “I’m so used to seeing your decorations, it’s hard not to overthink it.”

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done,” Miroku said. “It will be nice to remember what it’s like to be a normal person on Halloween.”

“ _Hey!_ ” Sango’s protest was paired with a snap of the towel at his butt.

He laughed as he danced away, out of towel reach from his peeved girlfriend, a teasing look on his face. “I’m not wrong, _This_ ,” he waved his hand at the spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling, “is definitely not normal.”

Sango’s answer was to grumble as she hung the towel onto the oven’s handle, though Kagome could see her eyes dancing.

“You guys ready?” she asked, a pang tugging at her heart at the affection they both held for each other. Not that she begrudged them having a healthy, successful relationship — she just missed it. Having someone to laugh and tease and smile with.

Sango grabbed her purse as Miroku flicked off the lights and before long, they were on their way out the front door and down the street. It wasn’t a trek to Kagome’s new home, but it was a decent walk. Over the summer when she’d first moved in it had been way too hot to consider walking the distance, but it was nice to be out now.

“Miroku,” Kagome said as they turned on the first block, “have you heard the story about the _Illethai Mobre_?”

“The what?”

“You know that huge concrete wall in my neighborhood? Lining the land between the memorial and the church? That’s apparently what it’s called.”

“ _Illethai Mobre_ is Albarian, isn’t it? I know the Albari were early settlers in this area, but that seems odd that they would name a concrete wall.”

“I tried looking it up the other day. Apparently there used to be a natural wall made from trees and branches that spanned the length of where the wall is now. They said a storm took out the trees, so the Albari commissioned a concrete wall to replace it ‘to ward off misgivings’.”

“That sounds a little ominous,” Sango said, tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat.

“Hmm.” Miroku studied Kagome, withdrawing deep in thought. “I’ve heard a few of their myths and legends, but they never mentioned any wall of any kind.” One hand went up, his eyes brightening as he turned back. “Though I never knew it was called _Illethai Mobre_. That name might have shown up somewhere.”

He pivoted on his heel, causing Kagome and Sango to stop mid-step.

“I’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder as he ran back toward their house. “I have a book on those legends and it might be in there.”

Sango laughed as he ran, sidestepping out of the middle of the path. “Now you’ve done it. We’re going to be hearing about every myth all night.”

Kagome smiled, knowing her friend wasn’t at all complaining about the turn of events. While Miroku’s interest in the Albari legends might not have been Sango’s, she still enjoyed listening to his passion.

“What made you look up the wall’s history?”

“I’ve always wondered,” she said. “Both of the statues have plaques that give their history and names, but the wall doesn’t. And everyone I’ve spoken to has confirmed that the wall was there first and belongs to neither the city or the church.”

“That’s really odd. I thought it was part of the memorial.”

“I did, too.” Kagome fell silent, the odd event with her unreliable phone coming to mind for some reason.

“I know that face. Did something happen?”

Kagome shook her head. “Not really? I don’t know, I just get a strange feeling around it. I think my mind’s been playing tricks on me.”

“I mean, it’s been a little stressful for you,” Sango said in the ‘careful’ tone that came up whenever she broached Kagome’s breakup. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“Yes, _mother_.” Kagome nudged Sango’s shoulder. “I’ve been doing good, I promise.”

“I just worry.”

“I know and I appreciate that,” she shot her friend a smile, “but I’m doing good. I’m happy. I’ve settled. I started decorating for Halloween.”

The concern creasing Sango’s eyebrows faded as she grinned. “I’m so excited to see what you’ve done.”

Pounding footsteps behind them had them turning, Miroku jogging up the sidewalk to meet them, book in hand.

“That didn’t take long,” Kagome said as he slowed to a stop.

“I knew it wouldn’t.” They started walking again, Miroku’s runner stamina something Kagome envied. “I wanted to grab a few books, but figured this one would be a good start.”

_The Oral Teachings of the Albari: A Collection_ the title read, the cover a beautiful illustration of a dense forest opening up to the cliff of a mountain overlooking a large expanse of land. Almost just like looking out into a new world full of things you could only find in stories.

“There are a few in here that I want to check out,” Miroku said as he opened the book and flipped through a few pages. “See if we can find something that could resemble what this could have been.”

“Sounds like it might work. Thanks!”

“Anytime.” He smiled and Kagome was once again grateful for having such good friends. “What do you two want to have for dinner?”

…

Sango was skimming through one of the stories in Miroku’s book, Miroku was in the kitchen on the phone with one of his friends, and Kagome was sitting at her table on her laptop, all three of them trying to hunt down the same information.

While helpful and thorough, Miroku’s book was a dead end and contained no mention of the _Illethai Mobre_. Sango had the idea to search for a barrier to prevent misgivings while Kagome was following the Google trail from the original article she’d found. After finishing his portion of the Chinese food they’d ordered, Miroku had the idea to call one of his college friends, another history buff who enjoyed the local history of the Albari.

So far, she was finding nothing.

It didn’t make sense. All mentions and articles spoke as if knowledge of the wall was common and easily attainable, but nothing held the actual information she was looking for. News of the tree barrier also came up empty — Kagome couldn’t even figure out what time of the year the storm that tore it down happened. She’d started looking up the trail behind the commission for the piece when Miroku pulled out his phone and began calling in old favors.

“Anything?” Kagome asked Sango quietly, hoping she would have been able to find something in the book they hadn’t. Sango had always been great at piecing together bits of information, seeing through to the truth when reading old documents and journals.

“Maybe,” came a murmured response. Sango’s eyes narrowed and after a moment, she shifted to slide the book to where Kagome could see it. “This chapter talks about Albari superstitions and how they came to be. This one in particular talks about warding off misgivings, but I can’t figure out what that’s supposed to mean.”

Kagome skimmed through the superstition, barely taking in what it was saying before reaching the sentence Sango was referring to. A heap of actions to ‘ _ward off misgivings_ ’ and not much else was said. “It’s just weird that it’s using the same word,” she said as she flipped to the next page. “Not evils or demons or anything else.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what to make of it.” Sango raked her hand through her already disheveled hair. “There’s nothing there to denote what the actual misgivings _are_ , just everything you need to do to keep them away.”

“I might have something,” Miroku cut in, leaning out of the kitchen and sliding his phone into his pocket. “Shippo didn’t know anything, but he knows an elder who knows more of how these stories came to be. They agreed to meet with me tomorrow over lunch.”

“Oh, that’s awesome,” Sango said.

“I figured if I take what we have here, I can see if they’ll be able to tell me what it all means.”

“Where are you having lunch at?”

He scrubbed his eyes with his hands and Kagome could see the exhaustion she felt. “I don’t know yet. Shippo said to meet them at the house and we’ll go from there. Apparently, this elder is a little finicky and it’s best to not make specific plans like that.”

“Is this a ‘just you’ lunch?”

“I think so.” He sank into a seat next to Sango. “I didn’t ask, but I think it’d be best if we didn’t ambush anyone.”

“Are you okay with that?” Kagome asked. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this and your second weekend starts tomorrow.”

He was waving off her concern before she finished her sentence. “You didn’t drag me into anything. There’s an Albari monument in the city I’ve never heard about. _Of course_ I want to figure out what’s going on.”

Her lips twitched, that was the Miroku she knew. He played the flirtatious idiot well enough, but the man’s mind was a sharp trap always looking for new information. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Miroku offered with a smile. “This is right up my alley.”

“Well, hate to eat and run,” Sango joked, causing Kagome to laugh, “but it’s almost eleven and we have an early morning tomorrow getting ready before Miroku has to leave for his lunch date.”

“You mind if I borrow this book?” she asked, gesturing to the pages sitting in front of her. “I want to read through it this weekend and see if I find anything.”

“Yeah, keep it for as long as you need. It’s one less thing to worry about with people walking through the haunted house.”

She smiled, getting up to walk them out. It was a quick goodbye, the house feeling starkly quiet in their wake. Flicking the lock and the deadbolt, she cleaned up the takeout boxes and leftover rice. She left the book and her laptop where they were, planning to get back to it the next morning.

Lights were turned off as she made her way upstairs, brushed her teeth, stripped out of her clothes, and finally fell into bed. She barely remembered to plug in her phone before she drifted off to sleep.

…

_Rough skin caressed down her body under the sheets, following the curved line from her shoulder to hip. It was warm, the rasp of skin the perfect friction. Spreading her thighs, she felt the weight of him settle on top of her. Warmth speared from him, his hips adjusting until she felt his length press against her slit._

_There was no hurry, her hands tracing over the muscles in his back as his lips skimmed over her neck, the pricks of his sharp teeth adding a heightened sensation. His fingers stroked back up her waist, playing along the side of her breast while his other hand slid into her hair. Sharp nails scraped over her scalp as he caught the strands in a fist, gently tugging her head to give him better access to her neck._

_One of her legs moved over his hip, her heel sliding along the strong length of his thigh. The movement tucked him that much closer and when he rocked his hips, her breath left in a stuttering moan._

_A husky chuckle vibrated through him and wafted over her neck, his hands holding her still as he rocked his hips again and again. His thick cock nudged her clit with each move, teasing her with what was to come. “I like those sounds you make,” he said, his voice low and deep and rasping over her senses. “Will you make more for me?”_

_Kagome bit her lip, not wanting to give away too much at once. They’d only just gotten started — his naked body hard and warm against hers, skin sliding as she traced down his tapered waist to the lines in his hips. She wanted to lick down his torso, explore those dips with her tongue, but he refused to give an inch. Though she couldn’t complain about the feel of his weight pressing her into the mattress._

_“Don’t stop now.”_

_Heat rushed through her at the depth of his tone. Good lord, when had she ever met a man with such a sexy voice that knew how to use it?_

_“There are a few more sounds in you.” His hips shifted, pulling back to let the tip of his cock slide down her slit until it nudged against her slick entrance. “Don’t be greedy.”_

_Her breath caught in her throat, her body tense with anticipation. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this wet, this aroused, this ready to feel her muscles stretch as she took a man. The leg over his hip tightened, her other one bending at the knee to give him the angle to sink in._

_“Oh no,” he teased, his breath fanning over her jaw, “not yet. You’re not getting what you want until I get what I want.”_

_“Please,” she panted, her nails digging into his hips. “You’re right there.”_

_His hips pulsed and she almost screamed when he stopped before the flared head pierced her. “Give me more of those beautiful sounds.” The growl under those words was potent. “Just a bit more.”_

_A whine sounded from the back of her throat and his body tensed, his hips stuttering again._

_“More,” he goaded. “_ More _.”_

_A high keen as she rocked against him, loving the feel of his muscles jumping under her hands. “Hurry.”_

_Teeth pricked her shoulder again, a sharp, harsh bite pinning her in place as his hips moved, parting her folds further than she expected, an impossibly thick girth pressing through her muscles until—_

Kagome jerked up in bed, sweat coating her skin. There was a draft, but even that cold blast didn’t distract her from the heat pounding through her veins.

What kind of dream was _that?_

She’d never had dreams like that before. Never. Not even when she’d been dating could she remember having such vivid, erotic dreams. Sliding out of bed, she ignored the cool floor as she made her way to the bathroom. She didn’t bother with a light, simply turned on the tap and splashed water on her face. It was a shock to her system, pulling her out of the last real caress of her dream and firmly into reality — wearing a tank top, shorts, and standing barefoot in front of her sink. She dried her face with the hand towel and made her way back to her bed.

Another draft caught her attention. Her eyes adjusted enough to see her window cracked open and from the feel of the window sill, it was going to get colder before morning. She slid the window shut, flicked the lock, and quickly slid back into bed.

Even after splashing water on her face, it didn’t take long for Kagome to drift back to sleep. Not once, even after waking the next morning, did she realize she’d never opened the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome was going to go out of her mind if she didn’t do something. Miroku was in the middle of his lunch date and there was no way she was going to bother him or Sango again. Five texts and two phone calls were already way too much. He didn’t need to be distracted, but Kagome knew she needed to be. She had to find something different than being stuck in an incessant cycle between the myth behind the wall and the dream she had the night before.

It felt even weirder in the light of day. She didn’t know what her mystery dream man looked like, but damn if the sound of his voice wasn’t burned in her ears — which only made it worse. It was all she could hear when she was making coffee that morning, the smell of the grounds reminding her of the depth he’d had in his tone.

She was itching to crawl out of her skin and after the third time reading the same paragraph in Miroku’s book, Kagome stood and pushed away from the table. The sight of her coat hanging next to the door gave her an idea and before she knew it, she was pulling on her boots and heading out the door. Her keys went into one pocket, her phone in the other, and Kagome was down the street in no time.

It was busier than she was used to, but that was expected being a Saturday afternoon and all. It wasn’t her normal time for a walk, but the chill in the air and rustle of trees was a wonderful distraction. She had no issues turning her focus to her surroundings.

At least some of them. Making her way toward the memorial threaded an energy through her, but this was a different kind of restlessness. Stuck in her house finding dead ends in all the stories she came across only had her frustrated; heading toward the memorial and seeing the wall again had her feeling a little hopeful. Maybe something there would jog her memory or there might be a clue she’d missed before.

Or maybe, she thought with a sardonic smile, it was just a good idea to get out of the house and breathe in some fresh air.

Even the aftermath of her breakup hadn’t been this bad of a spiral. Her entire world shifted, but there had been little bits of stability that helped her smooth into a new foundation. Sango and Miroku had helped her pack, Souta found the townhome she was renting, and Kaede had given her the week off of work to get settled.

Sure, she’d had some lonely nights and miserable mornings, but what else could she expect? Two years down the drain, Kagome had to learn to live on her own again. And not once during all of that had she found herself trapped in a cycle of repeating thoughts. It was so different from this new fascination over a wall, she had nothing else to compare it to.

Was this the breakdown people had been waiting for?

She could have scoffed at the thought. No, this wasn’t a breakdown. This wasn’t a spiral. Both Sango and Miroku had joined her on this mystery search and while they weren’t the closest normal meter she could find, they both wouldn’t humor her if she were teetering on a mental break.

Besides, she had a sex dream that hadn’t included her ex. If that wasn’t progress, she didn’t know what was.

The dog park was packed as Kagome walked past. All sorts of dogs running and playing while their owners mingled along the benches and chairs. It was cold enough that sitting out in the sun felt wonderful — such a perfect day to be outside. Her steps slowed, letting her watch the various dog breeds and mutts run around. A few barks here and there, playful growls as they chased after balls, it was absolutely perfect. Maybe she’d look at getting a dog after the holidays. It would help put some life in her home when the grey months of winter were at their height.

She continued walking, the memorial ahead. This time, Kagome looked right past the general on his horse, glancing over the other statue before—

Her eyes backtracked, going back toward the weird statue that always rang false to her. It looked different. She could have sworn it had been a lumberjack-type man covered in wolf furs, but this statue’s jaw was slimmer, coming down to a petite, feminine chin.

A horn blared in the street and Kagome jumped, the car swerving around the corner, and she wanted to yell after him. No reason to be a jerk in a neighborhood with kids around, but she knew it wouldn’t help. City drivers were always the worst.

Looking back at the statue, it must have been a trick of the light because it was back to a man’s square jaw. How odd. Must have been the way the sun hit the statue from this angle; she’d never been here in the middle of the afternoon. It could have been anything.

Though there was something new she noticed about the statue. There in the man’s coat, something was poking out. Kagome stepped closer, running her fingers over the grooved edge of what appeared to be a fan. How odd. Why would a wolf hunter carry a delicate fan — and why would they include it in the statue?

Following an odd notion she didn’t quite understand, Kagome pulled out her phone and snapped a couple pictures. Sending one to Sango, she included a simple, _What’s in his coat?_ Maybe Sango had a better answer.

She was sliding her phone back in her pocket when it vibrated in her hand. Excited when saw Miroku’s name flash on the screen, she hurried to answer. “Are you done already?”

“Hello to you, too,” he answered from the other end of the phone, completely unoffended. “How are you doing on this fine Saturday afternoon?”

“Miroku, if Sango wouldn’t miss you so much, I would bury you in a ditch where no one would find your body until after winter.”

His laughter was warm and welcoming and absolutely aggravating. “So you don’t want to hear all about what I learned at lunch, got it. I’ll just head on home—”

“What did they say?!”

“Oh,” he teased, “so _now_ I’m important enough to—”

“ _Miroku_.”

“Fine, fine. I’m headed over to your place now. I’ve already called Sango and she’s going to meet us there as soon as she can. I’m about twenty minutes away.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

“Kagome?” His question caught her before she hung up. “Are you at the memorial?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is there anything different about it?”

She turned, taking in the magnitude of the wall. Everything looked more or less the same. “No?”

“Okay,” he said, his tone speaking a thousand other thoughts. “I…It’s probably nothing, but I’ll tell you more when I get over there.”

“Alright.” What was going through his head? He wasn’t normally this close-lipped unless he had secrets he couldn’t share. “I’ll see you when you get here.”

…

Kagome stared at Miroku in confusion, wondering just what on earth his contact was trying to do. “You want me to what?”

He sighed, fingers rubbing his eyes. It appeared she wasn’t the only one thrown off by this recent development. “It was a weird conversation. He wouldn’t say anything at first, so I shared everything you had found.”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with the wolf hunter?”

“I asked the same thing, but he wouldn’t answer.”

She fiddled with Miroku’s book, her mind a mess of questions. “It’s not even an Albari tale, is it?”

“You know of it?”

“It’s one of the statues in the park.” Miroku stared at her and Kagome continued. “I never paid much attention to it. The story on the plaque sounds fake to me. Like one of those fisherman stories that no one was around to witness, but somehow ended up being told over and over again.”

Miroku nodded, the frown never leaving his face. “What’s the story about?”

“Some man saved the town from a rabid wolf pack,” she answered. “Even if it’s true, it’s definitely been exaggerated.”

“Yeah…” he didn’t seem convinced, “but there must be a reason he told me to go there.”

Grabbing her laptop, Kagome opened a browser and with a few taps of the keys, she was pulling up information on the park itself. Miroku moved around the table, sitting next to her on the bench as she found an article on the particular statue and they both waited for it to load.

> _The great storm in 1849 devastated the ravine, leaving the nearby wolf pack nothing to hunt. When the wolves turned their attention to the village, they destroyed all they could find. Narakatu, one of the original_ kagura _in the area, faced down the pack in a fight that lasted twenty-seven days and nights. Finally, as winter was at its height in the beginning of 1850, he succeeded in his quest and brought back thirty-six pelts that villagers used to keep warm through the rest of the winter season._

“See?” Kagome said as she finished skimming the short legend. “It sounds like a farce.”

Miroku didn’t say anything for a long time, intently studying the screen. She shifted, letting him see more clearly, something obviously catching his eye that she must have missed. He reached for the laptop, opening a new tab and doing a quick search. Kagome watched in growing curiosity as he pulled up the history of the Albarian language, going through older terminology.

“ _Kagura_ is an Albarian word,” he finally said, switching to another page to continue his search, “but I don’t think the article is using it correctly.”

“What is it supposed to mean?”

“It was a name,” he murmured. “At least, I think it was. I remember it being used for a specific form one of the evils took.”

The article was wrong? That was certainly possible, she considered. Legends like these were vague on details for a reason and it wasn’t one that drew most people’s attention. No wonder she thought it was a fake.

“Found it,” he breathed out and Kagome looked back at the screen. It was a page on Albari mythos, specifically about the demon of greed, Naraku.

“Naraku?”

“Yeah, I thought that looked familiar, too.” Miroku flicked back to the original article, highlighting the name attributed to the hunter. “It seems they didn’t do enough research. If this article holds most of the truth, then I would figure it was Kagura, one of Naraku’s forms, that killed the wolves. I don’t know how they got _Narakatu_ , that definitely isn’t right.”

“So this _is_ an Albari story?” Kagome scooted closer, tapping back over to the page on Naraku and skimming through the stories about him. “Somehow got mixed up with city history and no one corrected anything?”

“It makes sense to me,” Miroku added. “I haven’t met a single Albari willing to openly discuss this. Apparently, they believe that speaking about the legend can create an opening for them to visit your dreams.”

_Huh._ That definitely would keep a lot of mouths closed. “Who would visit your dreams?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“That’s an odd superstition.” Kagome didn’t know what that would look like. She didn’t normally have dreams — save the delicious one she’d had the night before — but she wasn’t fond of the idea of anything messing with them either. Hopefully nothing happened to run off her fantastic dream lover. She wanted to enjoy those for as long as she could.. “So what’s the story of Kagura?”

“Kagura was a demon who controlled the wind,” he read off, skimming through the many facets of Naraku’s legend. “Naraku created her when he needed to run. She flew on a large feather and controlled vicious blades of wind with a fan.”

“A fan?” Kagome pulled out her phone, bringing up the photo she’d sent to Sango. There it was, the tips of what could definitely be a fan. She showed Miroku. “Something like this?”

“That’s the statue?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be damned.” He enlarged the photo, zooming in on the details of the fan tips. “So it really is about Kagura.”

“Are there any stories about her hunting— wait.” Kagome grabbed the laptop, tapping back to the original article. “ _‘The great storm in 1849_ ’. Do you think that’s the same storm that took down the tree barrier before the wall was built?” She opened another tab, typing away until she pulled up the information on the wall. It was right there on the screen, a _great storm_ in the same year. “Do you think they’re connected?”

Miroku read over her shoulder, his face turning pensive. “I would be surprised if they weren’t,” he finally said. “Someone took the pains to make sure this information wasn’t easily accessible and for two legends to share the same event? That’s too much to be a simple coincidence.”

“Did you get any answers about what _misgivings_ could mean?”

He was shaking his head before she finished the question. “He wouldn’t even say the word. I figured he gave me enough information to look up, I didn’t want to push too hard this time.”

“Think you can get another meeting?”

“I don’t know,” he answered carefully, “though he seemed interested in you.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Said not many people paid attention to the wall. That it would be interesting to meet the person who looked carefully enough to find the right path.”

“Want to see if they’ll meet for lunch tomorrow? My treat.”

A sly smile spread over his lips as he pulled out his phone. “Why Kagome,” he teased in the way only Miroku could, “I thought you’d never ask.”

…

Three hours later, Kagome found herself on the other side of the city, an address programmed in her phone as she made her way up the steps to one of the many historical buildings. This area was heavily influenced by Albari culture, most of the people still living in the surrounding neighborhoods, and she was still feeling a bit of awe that she was there.

This wasn’t how she originally pictured this next meeting — alone, for one — but Miroku had already spent so much time on this project, she couldn’t tear him away from tonight’s haunted house event. Besides, she roughly knew where she was going and she’d spoken to one of the Albari on the phone earlier when they set the appointment for a simple meeting for tea as the sun was starting to set, something she learned was an Albari custom. She could do this.

Pulling the door open, she was surprised to see a modern reception inside. A sleek desk was at the other end, black leather chairs sitting in the lobby. Behind the desk was a younger man with bright red hair, probably still in college.

“Miss Higurashi?” he asked as he looked up, voice steady and unsurprised.

“That’s me.” The door shut behind her and she approached the desk. “I’m a little early…”

“That’s perfectly fine. If you come with me, I’ll show you to the den.”

She didn’t argue with the efficient answer, figuring this was better than waiting alone in the silent lobby. The man led her through the door behind the desk and down a hallway until it opened up into what looked like a living room. A fireplace was on one wall, windows opened up over a garden behind the building, and there were two couches and a couple chairs situated around a simple coffee table.

“Have a seat wherever you like and Myouga will be down shortly.”

Kagome didn’t mind being left alone in this room. It was much warmer than the lobby, even without the fireplace lit. Plush carpet cushioned her feet, warm taupes covered the walls, and mahogany bookshelves lined the entire side of the room. Most of the books on the shelves were in what she assumed was Albarian, though she wasn’t completely sure. Miroku would be able to recognize it better than she could, but the books she could read were about Albari history, so it would fit.

Choosing a seat that faced one of the windows, Kagome sank into the soft cushion. It was the perfect place to curl up with a good book. Whoever picked out the couches was definitely looking for comfort.

Outside, the setting sun cast a glint over the greenery. She could see a few flowers still in bloom, but some of the plants were already starting to fade. It would be stunning in spring.

“Good evening, Miss Higurashi,” a weathered voice said from the door, an old man walking in. He took a seat on the couch adjacent from her, his balding head something she wasn’t expecting. He looked far older than she expected, but the ridges in his hands spoke of recent, consistent use. “Thank you for coming today.”

“Thank you for having me.” She played with the hem of her shirt, sorting through the questions running through her head for an appropriate one to start with. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“It’s custom,” he answered smoothly. “Leaving things unanswered before nightfall will only broaden the road to your dreams.”

More talk of dreams. Maybe she’d get more information than she was expecting. “Is that common?” she asked. “Guarding your dreams?”

“Of course. Dreams have a way of capturing your thoughts and following you through your life. Leaving them accessible has you vulnerable to whatever could get a hold of them.”

She could see the logic behind that. The rasp of teeth over her neck had lingered in the back of her mind all day. “Miroku said you would be interested in meeting with me?”

Myouga leaned back on the couch, not answering. After a few beats of silence, the door opened and the man from the lobby came in carrying a tray with a teapot and two teacups. Setting it on the small table, he poured a cup for both of them, then left the room without a word. Myouga picked up his cup, blew a slow stream over his tea, then took a sip.

Kagome mirrored the action, enjoying the floral scent coming from the brew. It was even lovelier on her tongue, a great blend of tastes dancing over her senses as the temperature seemed to warm her from the inside out.

“Did you read further into the story of the wolf hunter?” Myouga asked, diving straight into whatever he wanted to discuss.

“Yes.” Kagome’s curiosity was piqued and she thought it might be easier to let him steer the conversation. “From what Miroku and I figured, the story the city tells doesn’t hold all of the truth.”

His lips twitched as he took another sip. “What did you find?”

“We think the story is about Kagura, one of Naraku’s incarnations.” Kagome watched him carefully, looking for any reaction to her blunt answers. “The storm in 1849 tore down the natural _Illethai Mobre_ , then wolves began attacking people according to the legend about the statue.”

His eyes sparkled, but he didn’t say anything.

“Then there’s the story about Kagura who set an elaborate trap for the wolf spirit. She killed a bunch of his pack, leaving their corpses in the valley for him to find. When he found them, she waged war on him, using her wind to reanimate the dead wolves.”

“You have done your research,” he commented between more sips of tea.

Kagome took the cue, drinking more of her own cup while waiting for him to add anything else.

“Naraku is a long told Albarian legend,” Myouga said instead. Kagome bit back her frustration. “A being born of greed, he evolved over time and showed himself in many different forms. Kagura was one of his earliest forms, hers being one that was vindictive and spiteful. She holds all the bitterness that comes from jealousy, always wanting to be free and forever trapped by her own wants and desires.”

It was different to hear the story told, opposed to reading it on her computer screen. All the same information, but there was a twist of truth, clarity that came with understanding how things could have been believed as the stories were passed down through the years. It would be wonderful to sit by firelight and listen.

“Naraku had other forms,” he continued evenly. “Greed showed itself in many different ways, but Kagura was his most tragic. Over time, she grew her own conscious, knowing that her actions were dictated by someone else and she would never have power over her own life.”

“Is that why she killed the wolves? Naraku dictated it?”

“We don’t know. Some stories say she knew what she was doing, others say she had no choice. Either way, it was her battle with Kouga, the wolf spirit, while Naraku stood in the background.”

“Who won?”

“No one knows.” Myouga finished off his cup, then poured himself another. He offered more tea to Kagome and she took it without hesitation. “Kouga and Kagura waged a bloody war for a year. Some legends say they killed each other in battle.”

Kagome studied the man, a niggling suspicion itching on her tongue. “You don’t believe that, do you.”

He smiled, his eyes rewarding as he sipped more tea. “We still have wind and we still have wolves. If the wind demon was killed, the air would be stagnant. And if the wolf spirit was killed, then his animals would have followed him.”

“Is that what the _Illethai Mobre_ is keeping out?” she asked. “Are they stuck on the other side still fighting?”

“No.” He shook his head, cementing his answer. “What does the legend say the _Illethai Mobre_ is a barrier against?”

“Misgivings.”

“And what is Kagura?”

“An incarnation of a demon.”

“ _Exactly_.” Myouga shot her a pointed look. “What do the legends call Naraku? What word do they use?”

Kagome thought back through what she’d read, piecing together the correct wording. “They call him evil.”

“So then Kagura can’t be behind the barrier.”

“So what does ‘misgiving’ mean here?” she asked, finally getting to the question she most wanted answered. “I’ve seen it come up in a few other stories, but there’s never any explanation of what it means.”

“Spirits and demons have rules of their own, but what is evil is evil; what is not evil isn’t necessarily good.” Myouga shifted on the couch, placing his cup onto the tray next to the teapot. “We use the word _darjana_ , an old word for something that is neither good nor evil, something that is a law unto itself. Good is good, evil is evil, but _darjana_ have rules of their own. They cannot be contained by those morals. ‘Misgiving’ is the closest translation we have, but when ‘misgiving’ is used, it is referring specifically to the _darjana_.”

“So the _Illethai Mobre_ is a barrier that keeps out the _darjana_?”

“Yes.”

“Why would they be kept out?” she asked. “If evil demons and good spirits were free to roam the earth, why would _darjana_ be banished?”

“That is definitely a question.”

Kagome looked at Myouga, waiting for more, but he showed nothing except a mischievous smile on his face. He wasn’t going to answer her. She took in a breath, trying not to scream in frustration. Why would he stop right there?

“ _Darjana_ are a law to their own,” he continued. “There are reasons and rules and justifications that go back centuries, but those aren’t important now.”

They sure were, but he continued talking before Kagome could argue that assessment

“What’s important,” he stressed, “is why _you_ are caught up in the wills of the _darjana_.”

…

Kagome’s phone rang late that night. She was expecting it; she knew Miroku would want to hear what happened and their events always lasted past midnight. She figured she’d have fallen asleep by this point and would update them in the morning, but she was still wide eyed and awake making hot chocolate when Miroku’s text, _You still up?_ came through.

“How was it tonight?” Kagome asked immediately, not giving him time to say anything.

“It was _awesome!_ ” Sango’s voice came through the phone. “We had a great crowd and that new kid we have as the mummy? He killed it!”

“Ooh, I can’t wait to go through. You think tomorrow will be good?”

“Absolutely,” Miroku said this time, confirming Kagome’s suspicion that she was on speaker phone. “One of the frat houses is coming by tomorrow night and you know they always scream the worst.”

“No,” Sango sang in the background, “Kagome’s coming the night before Halloween.”

“But it’s _frat night_ ,” Miroku argued. “She’s going to have a blast tomorrow.”

Frat nights were Kagome’s _favorite_ nights. The guys always tried to bolster each other up, even knowing they would shriek and squeal through the scares. And this time, being single and all, she could have fun and return a flirt or two. “Count me in.”

“Great, we’ll see you tomorrow, get here around nine, you’ll love it, now tell us what you learned!”

Laughing, Kagome stirred in a few marshmallows and made her way to her living room, curling up on her favorite chair. “He said a lot without confirming a lot, too.”

“That’s common,” Miroku said. “Albari are pretty tight lipped, though I can’t blame them with how people tend to bastardize their stories.”

“I told him our suspicions about Narakatu and I think he confirmed it. We talked about Kagura and Naraku and how they’re related, and then he told me about Kagura’s war with the wolf spirit, Kouga.”

“I knew it!”

“Hush, Sango,” Mirou murmured, “let her speak.”

“You won’t be hushing me for long,” came Sango’s teasing answer.

“Not while I’m on the phone, you two,” Kagome protested, smiling even with the abnormal pang she felt at their banter. She missed having that. “Myouga said their war happened for a year after the storm.”

“Which is about when the new wall was put up, right?”

“I think so,” she sipped her cocoa as she recounted the conversation. “Oh! He told me what misgivings mean. He said it’s the closest translation they have for _darjana_.”

“ _Darjana_?” Miroku asked, background noises telling her he was moving in the house. “That’s an old word, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, he said it was for things that weren’t good or evil, the ones that fall in between.”

“That’s something, isn’t it?” Sango asked. “There has to be something specific behind the wall if the Albari went to so much trouble to keep it up.”

“Do you think it’s real?” Kagome asked quietly. “That there’s something the wall is actually keeping out?”

There was more rustling through the phone and then she heard the dull _thunk_ of a large book hitting the table. At least, that’s what she thought it was.

“I don’t think so,” Sango answered as Miroku rustled through papers. “All we have are superstitions and stories, but it’s fun to think about that way. Kinda makes this hunt a little more real, you know?”

“Yeah.” Kagome let silence stretch over while Miroku kept looking for more information, drinking more of her cocoa. She had to be going crazy. It was all seeming _too_ real, like thinking the statue had different chin and that the fan hadn’t been there before. And what about the wolf spirit? Myouga hadn’t said anything, but could he be the one stuck behind the wall?

“I’m hesitant to say anything isn’t true,” Miroku’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “The stories come from somewhere.”

“But we can’t prove something exists,” Sango argued, “and that’s the burden of proof. You can’t believe in something because there’s no proof it doesn’t exist, that’s impossible.”

“I’m not saying I completely believe all the stories, I’m just open to the possibility that it could have happened.” More pages rustled and Kagome kept quiet through their debate. “Besides, there’s a way to know if this is real.”

“How?”

“See if Kagome starts getting any weird dreams.”

She blinked at her phone, thinking back through everything she’d learned. _Darjana_ reaching out through dreams was a theme she’d encountered a few times, but what would that look like?

“Any weird dreams so far, Kagome?” Sango asked when she didn’t say anything.

“No, nothing weird.” Besides the sexy dream lover, but that was just proof that it had been too long since her last romp in the sheets. Kagome was definitely starting to feel the lack of physical contact that came with being single and living alone again.

“Let us know if it starts.”

Kagome agreed, her answer broken by a yawn.

“Kagome, I know I’ve heard of _darjana_ before. I’ll let you know what I find tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Miroku. You two have a good night.”

…

_“Now that’s a sexy sight,” a deep voice crooned from the foot of her bed._

_It was dark out, the moon only half full and showing off the shadows in her room, but she knew him. Somehow in this dream, she knew that stranger, her body reacting as if it was greeting an old lover._

_“Tell me you’re waiting for me.” One of his knees went on the bed, then the other, and she watched as he lowered his large body over her. “Tell me you wanted me to find you like this.”_

This _was apparently naked and covered in nothing but a sheet. Kagome shivered under the cold draft from the window, but wasn’t worried. It wouldn’t be long for him to warm her right now._

_“Tell me,” he commanded, pairing his order with a sharp nip at her hip._

_“It’s possible,” she answered in a husky tone of her own, “though maybe it’s not for you.”_

_“Liar.” His hands gripped the sheet and slowly bunched it in his hand, his eyes tracking the edge of the sheet inching down her collar bone. “There’s no one else you’d do this for.”_

_The sheet was moving down her chest and Kagome held her breath as it paused over the tops of her breasts. She could feel his eyes like a brand on her skin and when his hands jerked the sheet down to her waist, she shivered at the growl that left his chest. More and more of her body he bared, all the way down until he pushed it down her legs and off the bed before kneeling over her again._

_He didn’t say anything, barely moved, but he didn’t have to. She heard his intake of breath and her thighs quivered, his eyes focused between. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured, bending down to drop a kiss right below her naval. She sucked in a breath at the sensation, but he continued down, coarse hands parting her legs so he could settle in between._

_“Look at this,” came another sexy croon that had her clenching in anticipation, “already wet for me.” He ran a finger up her slit, tapping over her clit before he used his thumbs to spread her. “So perfect, it’s like you were made for me.”_

_She couldn’t handle this. If he didn’t touch her, she was going to scream. He was so close, she could feel his breath ghosting over her with every sensual word he spoke, but dammit, she didn’t even know what her dream lover’s name was._

_“Look at me,” came a sharp tone, apparently not afraid to make his demands known. “Open your eyes and watch me.”_

_It was almost too much to see him there. Her eyes were adjusting in the dark, but she still couldn’t make out much of him. Broad shoulders, strong jaw, long hair pulled back in a ponytail, demanding eyes, and so big, he’d dwarf her easily if they stood up. And all of that was propped up between her spread thighs, inches away from her soaked folds, watching her watch him._

_The moan that left her was breathy and needy and everything she wanted to beg him to do. But she watched him, his eyes on hers as he bent his neck and flicked out his tongue along her seam. His answering groan carried over her breathless cry and with a shift, he hauled her legs up over his shoulders, tilted her hips, and feasted._

_Kagome couldn’t keep up with him. His tongue was divine, sinking into her and fluttering against her muscles. His hands ran over her stomach until they could cup her breasts, rough fingers massaging and pinching and stroking in every way she liked. When he slid his mouth up to her clit and sucked it between his lips, a sharp, keening cry left her lips, her hips grinding against him as she felt her orgasm building and fast._

_“Don’t stop,” she panted, her fingers clenching at the sheet underneath her. “_ Please _don’t stop.”_

_His chuckle reverberated against her clit, sending the first wave spasming through her. Fingers pinched her nipples at the same time he sucked on her clit and her orgasm crashed through her. Pulses and waves and absolute pleasure overwhelmed her, the draw of his mouth prolonging the spasms in her core._

_He rode out her waves, keeping with her with every pass until she could feel the bed under her back again. And all she felt was_ empty _. The typical sweep of satisfaction she normally got from orgasms was gone, her core weeping for something to stretch and fill it._

_“Ready for more?” he rumbled, letting her legs fall from his shoulders as he slid his wet lips up over her mound, her stomach, and through the valley between her breasts. “Ready for me to fill that ache in you?”_

_“Please,” she moaned, her legs wrapping around his hips and trying to pull him in._

_“So eager,” he chuckled, catching her neck with his teeth. “So ready for me. You’re going to stretch wonderfully around me, aren’t you?”_

_She could only answer with a moan, his words painting evocative pictures so vivid, she couldn’t wait to experience them. Her fingers sank into his hair, gently pulling it out of the leather strip he’d tied it up in._

_“You did that last time, too,” he commented idly. “I’ll remember for next time.”_

_Kagome almost asked what he was talking about — this was just a dream, how could a dream say there would be a next time? — but he moved her, hands positioning her hips before sliding between them. She could feel him against her then, hard and warm and so, so thick. Would he fit?_

_“You’re going to feel amazing,” his lips brushed against her ear with his words. “I don’t ever want to lose your taste on my tongue, but this? Stretching you this first time? Nothing will ever compare.”_

_The blunt tip of his cock zeroed in on her entrance and pressed. No teasing like the last dream, no making her beg, just a direct demand that she part around him and take him._

_“That’s it,” he crooned. “So warm and tight and taking me. You can take more.”_

_If he didn’t stop talking, she was going to come again from that alone._

_“Feel that?” he asked as he pushed in more and_ God _, she was glad this was a dream because she’d never be able to take him in real life. “Feel how good this is going to be when I’m finally inside you?”_

_She gasped as he surged further and Kagome almost swore she was at her end._

_“Just a little more.”_

_“I can’t,” she panted, her nails digging into the base of his neck. “I can’t.”_

_“You will.”_

_Her muscles fluttered around him at that command, building that fire again. So quick, so sudden, there’s no way—_

_“Fuck.” His weight disappeared off her suddenly, a blast of wind hitting the window._

_“What?” She jerked up, watching as he backed away from the bed._

_“Tomorrow,” he promised, his eyes almost glowing through the night. “I will be back tomorrow.”_

_“Where are you going?”_

_Wind rattled the window again, some of the cold air swirling in her room._

_“Wait for me.”_

Kagome jerked out of bed, sweat coating her skin again. The large shirt she’d fallen asleep in was rucked up around her waist, all covers on her bed thrown to the ground, her heart pounding in her chest, and her core aching, almost like she was left unfinished.

What was _that?_

A blast of cold air caught her attention and she climbed out of bed, snapping the window shut and flipping the lock. She couldn’t remember opening it. Was it the second night in a row that she opened it in her sleep? Kagome had never sleep walked before, why would it start now?

Turning back to her bed, she flicked the sheets back over the mattress, walking around to make the bed again. What a weird two nights. She knew this man and he somehow had remembered the last dream, almost like it had been a continuation. Only it hadn’t picked up where the last one left off, so what really going on?

There was a string under her feet. A hard string. Reaching down, Kagome picked it up, her fingers sliding over the dual textures on either side of the flat piece. Sitting down on the side of her bed, she flicked on her lamp and studied what she’d found.

It was a long strip of leather, smooth on one side and coarse on the other, imprints in the strand where it was usually tied. Nothing like anything she’d ever seen.

She felt from one end to the other, wondering how on earth it could have gotten into her bedroom. And who would have one? No one carried leather anymore, the only thing in recent memory that could fit was—

The leather cord from her dream; the one her dream lover had tied in his hair. Looking down, there were a couple strands of hair in her hand as well, long and dark and while similar to her own, she knew did not belong to her.

It was real. Her dream was real.

Her mystery lover was a _darjana_.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome couldn’t stop moving the next day, the previous night running on repeat in her mind. Myouga had warned her — unfinished, this would follow her into her dreams. And she wouldn’t be finished with this until…when?

Finally sinking into her couch after deep cleaning the kitchen, Kagome tracked back over the last few weeks. It started with researching the wall, why it was there, when it was made, what it was supposed to represent. From there, it was the repetition of misgivings — a word Kagome learned yesterday was translated from _darjana_. And _darjana_ were spirits that were neither good nor evil, spirits and beings that went their own way.

Throw in Kagura and what she thought was the true story behind the fake statue for Narakatu, how Kagura and Naraku were related, and the war between Kagura and Kouga and that all led to the night before. Kagome’s mystery lover had been run off before they could do the deed and she was left with a strip of leather he’d worn in his hair.

None of it made sense. That was the second night the _darjana_ had been in her dreams and this time, she watched him leave before waking. What had scared him off?

A sinking feeling in her gut told her she already knew that answer, but it was a hard one to swallow. Bouncing to her feet and striding toward her dining room where her laptop still sat on the table, Kagome quickly pulled up information on Kagura, the wind demon and original incarnation of Naraku.

There were no physical descriptions of Kagura, only notations of items she was associated with. The only thing Kagome had going to connect Kagura to her dreams was the open window and the blast of wind that scared off her _darjana_. Which, if that were indeed true, then her _darjana_ must be the wolf spirit Kouga, whom she believed to be trapped behind the wall.

Was she supposed to get him out? Is that why he’s been invading her dreams?

A shudder ran up her spine at the memory of her dreams, her core still aching to be filled. It had been a distraction for her all day and it didn’t matter what she did to try and ease that ache, she still wasn’t satisfied.

Drumming her nails on her table, her mind wandered. There was literally nothing else she could do. Talking to Myouga had given her more information than she could have imagined and answered a lot of her initial questions, but it had also given her more. Such as why she was targeted, why she felt the draw to the wall, and why Kouga — if it truly was Kouga — swept into her dreams the way he did.

She was going out of her damn mind, giving into an erratic idea as she grabbed socks and slid on her shoes. She put on a simple coat, threw her hair up in a ponytail, and was out the door before she could talk herself out of leaving. Whenever she was stuck, she’d return back to the source and look for anything she might have missed, or pieces of information that would shine differently under the new light of acquired knowledge. So that’s the only thing she could do now, go back to the wall.

This time, she was focused on Kagura’s disguise and it was there. That feminine slant to the jawline was more prominent today, more of the fan showing out from beneath the coat. Other differences were adding up too — more delicate eyebrows, slightly slimmer shoulders, and small changes to the furs at her feet. It wasn’t until Kagome glanced away and looked back did they all disappear, sliding right back into the original statue she was familiar with.

How interesting. Each day she saw more, but something was keeping the changes from sticking.

Moving on from that statue, she studied the wall. The _Illethai Mobre_. It was massive, intimidating, and solid, but there had to be something different. If Kagura’s statue was starting to show her true form, then the wall must be changing, too.

Nothing caught her eye from afar so she moved closer, inspected the concrete from the ground up. When she found nothing there, she moved toward one of the corners, looking for anything and everything until she found a crack. It was small and slight, but it ran up toward one of the tree branches and Kagome was curious to follow it as far as she could.

When her hand slid over the crack, a pulse of warmth flooded her skin. Her heart thud in her ears as she froze, the small line of heat drastically different from the cold that surrounded it. Following it over, the temperature rose until it was almost too hot to touch, right there where the tree branch met the wall before climbing up. Her nails followed, seeing if there was anything broken, but the warmth faded away almost as quickly as Kagura’s form reverted back to its disguise.

Something was here. And it wanted out.

Tucking her hand into her coat pocket, Kagome walked straight back home. So many questions and theories ran through her mind, but she couldn’t think any more. She needed answers and she knew her best source would be waiting for her in her dreams — if she could figure out how to get him to talk.

…

The haunted house was stunning. Most were things Kagome had experienced in previous years, adjusted and switched around so it wasn’t the same layout, and some of them were new. The actor playing the mummy was just as fantastic as Sango had claimed and Kagome would be giggling at the memory of four tall, built frat boys jumping and shrieking like they’d never gone through puberty. Even funnier was when one hid behind her every corner they made through the remainder of the house.

Sitting outside, one of the group brought her a bottle of water they’d bought from the vendor set up in the backyard. That had been a recent addition, Miroku coming up with the idea the year before. It had made a killing its first year and was doing a great job now, offering the perfect place for people to linger as they recovered from the house.

Breaking the seal on the bottle, Kagome took her first refreshing sip as the rest of the group joined her on the picnic bench she’d been sitting at.

She hadn’t been expecting their camaraderie to continue after they left the house, but she wasn’t complaining at the play-by-play commentary they were using to tease each other with.

“You didn’t seem to be scared at all, Kaito,” one of the guys sitting across from her joked to the man sitting next to him.

He was right. Out of the whole group, she couldn’t remember Kaito reacting to the typical rush of adrenaline that usually came from haunted houses.

“I’ve been to a few of these,” came the simple answer, one Kagome could believe.

“Yeah, that and nothing beats Albarian horror stories,” added the guy to her right.

Kagome’s ears perked at the mention, but she desperately tried to keep from showing her sudden, intense interest.

Kaito shrugged. “It would be different if it were a full moon. Some of the effects they had in there were very realistic.”

“What’s up with that, by the way?” Frat Boy Number One asked. “The full moon thing in the legends.”

Heads turned toward him all at once and Kagome smiled as his hands went up in surrender. “It came up in one of my classes. The professor kept harping about consistent mentions in different mythos and the full moon was referenced a lot in the Albari section of the course.”

Kagome chuckled, loving this glimpse into their academic lives she wouldn’t otherwise be privy to.

“Full moons were said to highlight the paths to this world,” Kaito explained. “It shows the spirits the way in so they can take form.”

“Is there something special about the blue moon?”

“Just who exactly is your professor?”

“Totosai.”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry,” Kaito laughed. “He’s intense.”

“ _Insane_ ,” the guy laughed. “I think the better word is insane.”

“Things with the spirits are dictated by the calendar,” Kaito explained. “As soon as a new month hits, the previous paths are dimmed. At the start of a new year, they’re erased.”

“So with two moons in one month,” said the guy on Kagome’s right, “the paths are brighter than they would be.”

“Kagome!”

She looked up to see a zombie head poke out from the back door entrance into the garage. Seeing Miroku motion her closer, she finished her water and stood. Thanking the guys for the fun time — “Thank _you_ for scaring off the big bads for them,” Kaito joked back — she made her way across the lawn to see why her friend was breaking character to talk to her.

“Have fun?” he asked first, a question she was completely expecting.

“A blast. That mummy is _perfect_ and I couldn’t have gone with a better group.”

“Awesome. We’ll talk tomorrow to get a full rundown. But here,” he shoved a packet of papers into her hands, looking over his shoulder back into the house. “Information on _darjana_ and how they work, things to look out for, and all that.”

She blinked, wondering how Miroku put so much together for her.

“Write down your dreams,” he said, his eyes suddenly very serious. “Right when you wake up, write down your dreams.”

“You believe them,” she whispered, the sound barely traveling. “You believe the stories.”

“Again, I don’t know, but this is too much to be just a coincidence. And according to what’s in those papers, if anyone is going to know the truth, it’ll be you.”

Kagome flipped through the packet even knowing there wasn’t enough light to be able to identify anything on them.

“If you’ve been having dreams,” he continued, “fall asleep on your couch tonight. If the setting of your dreams change, then we can suspect that this is real.”

Would that really work? Her dreams had been occurring in her bedroom so far, which could also be due to the content the dreams had been about. Could conjuring a conversation with her _darjana_ really be that simple?

“Alright, I gotta go. Have a good night!”

The door shut quickly, but Kagome didn’t pay any mind. They ran a tight ship on these houses having worked out the kinks for a very successful haunted house over the years. That Miroku took the time out to speak to her tonight was something completely new. There must be something in these papers that struck him as important.

Kagome couldn’t wait to get home and give it all a try.

…

“Changing the scenery, are we?”

That sinfully dark voice drew her from her sleep, the light from the kitchen illuminating the living room just enough for her to make out his form. Tanned skin, bright eyes, dark hair — it was helping her put together more pieces to the whole of him.

“It’s a little smaller than your bed,” he continued, his eyes tracking down the length of her body on the couch, “but I can’t wait to see you bent over those cushions.”

“Actually,” she interrupted, sitting up and reaching for the papers sitting on the coffee table, “I have a few questions for you.”

His lips quirked into a smirk and she was surprised to see the flash of a fang peek out. “You think you’ll be able to talk after I put my hands on you?”

Pulling her knees to her chest, she pointed at the chair on the other side of her coffee table. “ _Sit_. No touching until I have my answers.”

He eyed her, wicked mischief shimmering on his face. If he didn’t listen to her, if he really did put those hands on her, she’d be mush on the couch, but she refused to let any of that show.

Relief sprang through her when he nodded. “I can agree to those terms.” He sat in the chair she’d pointed out, settling into the cushions while watching her carefully. “Ask away.”

“Are you a _darjana_?”

He smiled, his eyes twinkling across the room. “Jumping right in, aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer, just watched him pointedly.

His smile deepened as if her focus amused him. “That’s the name I’ve been given, yes.”

“Then what do you call yourself?”

“Kouga,” he answered simply, “though I think you already knew that.”

Kagome looked down at the papers in her hands, the words swimming in front of her. _It was real_. “And you’re trapped behind the _Illethai Mobre_.”

“You have done your research,” he mused “No one else has found this much about me.”

“So you’ve done this before?” _That_ was news. How many times has this occurred over the last two hundred years? And why have none of them succeeded?

“I’ve tried to take form, yes,” he explained, his eyes curiously focused on hers. “Contacted humans in an attempt to convince them to help me through.”

“Played in their dreams?” she clarified, her throat dry at the thought. It didn’t make sense for the sharp twinge she felt, but it was still there. Something in her didn’t like the idea of him bouncing around from bed to bed and hers was simply the next in the lineup.

“Not like this,” he answered, relaxing immediately. “Oh no, you’re the first delectable temptation I’ve had in a long time.”

“But you’ve done it before.”

“If you’re looking for me to tell you I haven’t enjoyed time in other beds, I can’t,” he said idly, “but I can tell you I haven’t done so in decades.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Don’t lie now,” he crooned. “I quite like how jealousy looks on you. It’ll feel great when you dig those nails into my back to stake your claim.”

She blushed furiously, not at all prepared for him to jump straight into _that_. Kagome wasn’t used to feeling like this. With all her previous relationships, even when other people flirted with her boyfriend in front of her, she’d never felt this need to stamp her name over him. With Kouga, the thought of him putting those lips on other women like he’d done to her twisted her up inside.

“If it helps, I feel the same,” Kouga continued, talking through her silence. “I don’t want you to be playing with others while I’m in your bed.”

“You’re not _in_ my bed,” she argued. “You invaded my dreams before I knew what was going on.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want it?” he asked, a low, husky warning in his voice. “That you didn’t melt under me when I put my mouth on you last night? That you didn’t enjoy coming on my tongue? That you wouldn’t want me to do it again?”

Her thighs clenched at the imagery in his words, the rush of memories he brought out. With the ache she’d felt since waking that morning, there was no way she could deny any of his claims. Didn’t help that she didn’t _want_ to, either.

“The only reason we’re not there now is because you looked into the stories and are trying to piece it together.”

“Why are _you_ doing this?” she threw out in a desperate attempt to get her mind back on track. “For fun? To get off? Because you can?”

Kouga said nothing, his face turning blank. The leer was out of his eyes, the tease gone from his mouth, and Kagome remembered very suddenly that this wasn’t a normal man she was dealing with. A wolfish tilt of his head let her know he was thinking, but everything else from his body language all but disappeared.

“You’re trying to take form?” She had to fill the silence. She couldn’t handle what was growing between them, how his eyes seemed to see far past what she wanted him to see. As if he were stripping her down to her fears, her wants, her innermost thoughts. “Does this help ground you? Is your path to this world clearer when you come into my dream?”

He stood from the chair, his large body filling the room. Kagome’s tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as he moved around the coffee table until he was standing right in front of her. But then he surprised her and lowered into a crouch in front of her. Claws tipped the end of his fingers as one hand reached up to cup her cheek, the size of his palm almost dwarfing her face. Everything about him was simply massive. Were all _darjana_ so big?

“I see that I’ve almost made a mistake,” he murmured. “You think I’ve taken advantage?”

Teeth sank into her bottom lip and his eyes tracked the movement, but he otherwise remained perfectly still.

“I am trying to take form,” Kouga answered, his voice soothing in a way she hadn’t yet heard. “The second moon is approaching, the barrier will be at its thinnest, and your research has lit a beacon for me. But I joined your bed because you dreams invited me in that way. If you truly wish for me to leave it, I will respect that.”

Her eyes widened, the implications of her desperation reaching further than she ever wanted them to.

“Do you wish for me to leave you alone?”

She shook her head. “No. But…you’re not a dream.”

“I am not.”

“It’s a little different. I want to know you. I want to know what’s going on.”

“Do you want to help me?”

Her teeth pinched, her eyes wide as she watched his. Blue, a deep, startling blue stared right back at her, a color she was only just now seeing. “I think so.”

“It will get dangerous,” he warned, his thumb brushing along her cheek. “Someone is trying to keep me away.”

“Kagura.”

His smile was softer this time, but there was no mistaking the pride in his eyes. “Your research was thorough.”

“I still have more questions. It’s like every answer brings two more questions.”

“That’s by design,” he said smoothly. “If the information were readily available, I would have already taken form and won my war.”

“She’s doing everything she can to keep you from winning?”

He nodded. “Her fate is different. I don’t know what form she has taken or what she’s allowed, but she will appear more the closer we get to the full moon.”

“How do we defeat her?”

His eyes sparkled at her words and too late, she realized she was including herself with him. “Keep searching,” his voice rumbled through her, “and keep welcoming me in. The path grows stronger each time I take it.”

“And you’ll be able to take form?”

He nodded.

“And you’ll keep it?”

His eyes shifted, his body stilling once again. “Let’s get there first,” he murmured. “Fighting the wind isn’t an easy thing to do.”

“We can figure it out,” she murmured, watching as his gaze focused back on her, his blue eyes darkening at their closeness. “The information has to be somewhere.”

“You really want to help me?” he asked, crowding closer. Even though he was still crouched on the floor, his size took up her space, caged her in. Kagome would be lying if she said she didn’t like it.

“Of course.”

He didn’t smile, but heat flared in his eyes, searing straight through her. “I’ll visit you every night. The more you think of me, the easier it is to find my way.”

“That won’t be hard,” she joked. “I’ve been barely able to think of anything else.”

That crooked grin finally returned to his mouth, the flash of fang beneath his lips sending a shiver down her spine. “Twice, we’ve been interrupted,” he breathed, his chest pressing into her knees, “and you got one of yours.”

Her heart thud in her chest and her panties grew slick at the reminder. It didn’t matter that he was still practically a stranger, the man really knew his way around her body. She couldn’t wait to experience him fully. “I’ll give you an extra one next time.”

Kouga’s eyes traced her mouth and just like that, she was picturing hersef on her knees, slowly tasting him. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he warned, though from tightness in his jaw, he was already imagining the same thing.

“Who says I can’t?”

Tree branches brushed against the window, a light tapping that grew as the wind picked up outside. “It took her longer to find me tonight,” he murmured. “I wonder what kept her.”

Kagome looked at the window, listened to the wind, and opened her mouth to ask the question burning on her tongue.

His finger pressed against her lips, halting her words. “She can hear the sounds on the wind,” he said as he leaned even closer, his hot breath fanning over her mouth. “So next time, we’ll have to make sure she can’t hear anything.”

Kagome didn’t have a chance to respond as Kouga replaced his finger with his mouth. His lips were firm and demanding, giving her a hard, fierce kiss. His hand slid into her hair, claws sliding along her scalp, and when his tongue tapped against her lips, she parted them immediately.

He tasted of wilderness, something untamable and powerful as he plundered her mouth. Kagome moaned as his tongue stroked against hers, imprinting his taste on her senses. She wasn’t ready when he ended the kiss, but the rap of branches on the window brought her quickly to her senses.

“You got your answers,” he said against her lips, “so tomorrow, I’m going to touch.”

Another moan, this one louder, and she opened her eyes to watch him smile.

“Oh yeah,” he murmured, “I’m definitely going to enjoy touching you.”

He gave her another demanding kiss — hard, swift, hot — and then Kagome opened her eyes to her empty living room, the packet of papers on the floor next to her and the taste of pine still on her lips.


	4. Chapter 4

“Good afternoon, Kagome,” Miroku said over the phone, the busy sounds in the background confirming he was on his lunch. “To what do I owe this call?”

“They’re real,” Kagome blurted out. “The stories, they’re real.”

A pregnant pause came from the other end, a horn blaring before cars moved and a few shuffles of people passing by the only things she could hear. Miroku was still walking and Kagome bit her lip to keep from pressing further.

“You’re sure?” he finally asked, his voice hesitant, but not invalidating.

“Completely.”

“There’s no mistaking it?”

If she didn’t know him as well as she did, she’d assume he didn’t believe her. But she _knew_ him, she knew he was covering all bases, knew he wouldn’t doubt her once he heard everything she had to say. “No, Miroku.” She bit her lip, glancing around the empty break room. “I met Kouga.”

The background noises dropped to a muffle immediately and Miroku’s voice came through loud and clear. “Can you take the rest of the day off?”

“I have to talk to Kaede, but I should be able to.”

“I’ll meet you at your house in an hour. I’ll text Sango so she can meet us there after work.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you really met him, yes. This is…” His sigh was heavy, loaded down with all sorts of unspoken expectations. “This changes things.”

That felt like an understatement, but she couldn’t argue with what he said. If this truly was _real_ — and Kagome knew it was — then Kagura could potentially hear anything they said. She packed up her uneaten lunch. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”

“Good. Don’t speak their names,” he said.

“She uses the wind to listen,” Kagome finished for him.

“Holy shit,” Miroku breathed, acceptance an audible crash even through the phone. “It’s true.”

“I know. We have a lot to figure out,” Kagome glanced at the calendar on the wall, “and not a lot of time to do it.”

Miroku was sitting on her doorstep when she approached. He stood when he saw her, taking the heavy bags she was carrying off her hands so she could dig through her purse for her keys. Neither said anything as she let them in, but he did peer through her purchases as she closed and locked the door behind them.

“Do you need help applying these?” he asked, pulling out a window lock.

“Yes please.” Kagome hurried out of her shoes and coat, tossed her purse onto the hook, and then went straight to the second bedroom, Miroku following behind. It didn’t take long to locate her drill from the closet. Good thing she didn’t let her ex keep it when he tried to convince her it was his. “I need one on every window. They have a habit of sliding open at night and driving up my heating bill.”

His eyes were knowing when he nodded, silently grabbing the drill bits for her. They went window by window, carefully replacing each lock with a new secure one. It took an hour to get to each one that could open and when they were done, Miroku gathered up the old ones and took them out to her trash. Kagome put away her drill and was settling on her couch when he came back in.

He flipped the lock on the door and sat next to her. “What happened?”

She started from the beginning with the forgotten reminder in her phone, the changes in the statues, and then her dreams. Fighting her blush, she told him what she could while keeping the details limited — Kagome wasn’t prepared to share _that_ just yet. Miroku stayed quiet through it all, even when she repeated things he already knew. When she told him of her latest dream, how she fell asleep on the couch and how it reflected when Kouga visited her, he collapsed against the back cushion.

“What did he tell you last night?”

Tension from the lingering doubts that she was crazy vanished. She knew she wasn’t, but hearing someone else validate what she was going through was a weight off her shoulders. Kagome repeated what she learned from Kouga, watching Miroku’s expression as he took in the information.

“Kagura’s been scaring him off every night so far?”

“Yeah. Last night was the longest he’s stayed so far, I don’t know why she didn’t come sooner.”

Miroku hummed, deflecting the question. “Kagura was getting up to something herself.” He continued, not letting her comment on that. “Kouga’s going to keep visiting your dreams for the next week?”

A tingle danced low in her belly at the thought of what the next week was going to bring. “Yes.”

“And he’ll be able to take form on Halloween, but we don’t know if he’ll keep it?”

“I was thinking there would be something in the stories,” she answered, angling on the couch. “I’m going to learn what I can from him, but I can’t be the first person this has happened to.”

He shook his head, agreeing with her. “The Albari have always stressed that things will find you in your dreams if you aren’t careful. This has definitely happened before.”

“Think there’s anyone around who would know more?”

“I’m going to call Shippo, see if we can’t get another meeting with Myouga.”

“Myouga has to know something,” Kagome murmured. “He’s the one who asked what the _darjana_ want with me.”

“You can’t trust them,” he said. “This Kouga, he’s a _darjana_. He’s going to do whatever he can to get what he wants. You have to be careful.”

Kagome bit her lip, thinking over everything she knew about the man. It wasn’t much, but it he had been lying the night before, she wouldn’t ever know.

“And he told you he was using you get his form back, right?”

“Yeah,” she answered, ignoring the other half of what Kouga had said that night, “he was more open when I said I would help him.”

“And you think it’s a good idea?”

It wasn’t a judgement, only a question. With what she knew, she understood. There was probably a reason for a barrier to keep out _darjana_ , but with Kouga, she didn’t want to keep him out. And not just because he knew what to do with that mouth of his, or because he was so big, she got wet thinking about the few moments she’d been under him. It was his honesty, that he sat and answered questions last night when other things were obviously on his mind.

She remembered him kneeling in front of her, giving her the opportunity to kick him out of her bed, making sure that his advances were welcome. Admitting that he’s definitely using her to gain form, but what was going on between them physically was different.

The pang in her heart was a mess she didn’t want. Just sex, just fun, he was a supernatural being that was just trying to gain access to earth. She couldn’t expect anything else from him.

Looking back at Miroku, she nodded. “Yeah, I do. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually want to help him. I want to see where this goes.”

Miroku nodded along with her, accepting her answer easily. “What do you know of Kagura?”

Kagome shrugged. “That she’s a wind demon, that Naraku created her, that she killed a bunch of wolves and reanimated their corpses to fight Kouga.” It was a gruesome thought. “Why?”

“If we’re going to help Kouga, we’re going to be fighting Kagura. And she…”

Kagome waited, but he didn’t continue. “Miroku? What’s wrong?”

He blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. “Kagura fights dirty. We’ll need to be prepared.”

“What—”

“We have to find out what the stories say about defeating her.” Miroku interrupted, pulling out his phone to put in the call to Shippo. “We don’t have a lot of time.

…

It was all too soon that Kagome and Miroku were sitting in the familiar den, waiting for Myouga to join them. Shippo had already served tea, claiming it would be a bit of a wait before their meeting could start. She was perched nervously on the same couch she’d sat in previously, halfway through her cup of tea while Miroku was perusing the bookcases.

Like she thought during her first visit, he recognized many more titles than she.

“Do you think they’ll have anything?” Kagome hated asking the question, hated that her nerves were getting in the way of her self-control, but it was better to let it out now than unload on Myouga.

“I think so,” he answered, his voice holding none of the nerves she was feeling. “We might have to share more to get some answers, but I’m willing to do that to find out what we need to know.”

She nodded, drinking more of her tea.

“Surely they’d be interested in this turn of events,” Miroku turned to add. “If the _Illethai Mobre_ is cracking and the spirits are becoming more active, I can’t imagine they’d turn a blind eye to this.”

“Well, that’s news,” a deep voice rumbled from the doorway, Kagome and Miroku jolting to see a large, tall man standing at the entrance. His long, silver hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, his gold eyes almost glowing as he scanned the both of them before nodding at Kagome. “It’s good to see you again, Kagome.”

“ _Touga_.” Her heart thudded in her ears, shock coursing through her system. Nothing quite like exploring a mystery and coming face-to-face with the ex’s father. “What—”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he interrupted as he moved into the room, Myouga following in behind him. “When Myouga mentioned you dropped by Saturday, he didn’t say what brought you here.”

The last part of that sentence was directed at the older man as he took a seat, studiously ignoring the displeasure rolling from Touga’s body. “I knew if it were important to mention, she’d be retuning anyway.”

“If she was asking about the _Illethai Mobre_ , it was already important to mention.”

Kagome never worked well with that tone, hard and full of expectation, and it seemed Myouga wasn’t enjoying it either. Touga ignored the man, though, and took a seat next to Kagome. “It is good to see you again,” he said in a low, gentle voice, his eyes softening. “Are you doing well?”

“It’s been different,” she answered tentatively, “but yes, I am. How are you?”

“We’ve been better,” he said easily. “It always gets a little odd around this time of year, especially if the dam is starting to break.”

His comment relaxed some of her alarm, keeping the conversation away from his younger son. While it had been months and Kagome had made strides in recovering from the end of their relationship, she wasn’t certain she could handle discussing it with his dad. “I didn’t know you were Albari.”

“It’s not something we advertise.” Touga’s eyes shifted toward Myouga and then to Miroku who was taking a seat in the remaining chair across from them. “There’s a lot of truth wrapped up in these stories and we have to be careful to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.”

There was a meaning in his words that Kagome didn’t quite understand. Looking around, she caught Miroku’s eye. He didn’t seem to catch it either.

“Before we go there,” Myouga finally said, pulling her attention from Touga’s words, “what brought you to call today?”

“We know it’s real,” Kagome answered. “The stories, the legends, the _darjana_ , they’re all real. Kagura and Kouga and whatever war they’re fighting.”

Myouga nodded, his eyes curious as he met her gaze “And your dreams? Which _darjana_ have you caught the attention of?”

She wasn’t expecting him to jump right there, but it made sense. Myouga had warned her about her dreams. “Kouga.”

“And you?” Touga rumbled, his gaze set on Miroku’s.

Kagome shook her head, knowing Miroku hadn’t—

“Kagura, I think.”

Her eyes widened in shock as her breath hitched. He was also having dreams? “You didn’t tell me.”

He winced. “I didn’t know for certain until you told me Kagura took longer to chase off Kouga than before.” His voice was apologetic and she knew it wasn’t an intended lie, but it still hurt a bit. “It wasn’t clear. I was stuck in a black void, the wind howling around me. There was a woman’s voice talking over the wind about the danger my friends could be in.”

“Do you believe her, that Kagome’s in danger?”

“Yes, but I don’t trust Kagura.”

Touga and Myouga shared a look. Kagome didn’t know what to make of any of this information. Her mind was reeling at the revelation.

“If this is really Kagura and Kagome is talking to Kouga, then yes, I believe she is going to be caught up in their war.” Miroku’s gaze was solemn as he looked at her. “I do not believe Kouga’s the danger, though.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Kagome trusts him and I trust Kagome.”

It was a simple answer, but so heavily weighted with sudden fears and doubts. Last night and this morning, helping Kouga seemed to be the right choice. But if this was actually a war, if she was getting mixed up in spirits and demons that had been fighting for far longer than she’d been alive, if she _wasn’t_ right and now Miroku was involved, what was going to happen to all of them?

“Is that true, Kagome?” Touga’s voice was soft as he addressed her, every bit the father-figure she’d come to know over the years with his family. “You trust Kouga?”

She swallowed through the growing lump in her throat. “I think so.” With a deep breath, she met Touga’s gaze. “I know he’s _darjana_ and _darjana_ are a law to their own, but…” The three men waited for her to piece together her thoughts, trying to explain what he showed her without revealing anything too intimate. “He acknowledged using me to gain form, never once denied that, but he also made sure I was okay with it, that he wasn’t forcing me into situations I didn’t want to be in.”

Something in Touga’s eyes shifted, his expression full of meaning before it fell carefully blank.

“I also figured,” she said, pulling away from that memory of Kouga’s hand on her cheek and desire in his eyes, “a _darjana_ is better than an incarnation of Naraku. If I have to choose, I think I’d rather help the one who isn’t called evil.”

It was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but Touga didn’t buy it and she could see it. Somehow, he knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth. And she couldn’t. She didn’t know _why_ she trusted Kouga, only that she wanted to see this through, and last thing she was going to do was tell her ex-boyfriend’s father about the new man who found his way in her bed.

“Have there been changes to the _Illethai Mobre_?” Myouga asked, pulling Kagome back into the conversation.

“Yes.” She pulled out her phone and showed them the picture of Kagura’s statue. “It’s starting to change. The fan wasn’t there last week and at times, the man looks more and more like a woman.” Touga took her phone and zoomed in, his eyes tracking over the screen. “And yesterday, there was a crack along the north end of the wall.”

“A large one?”

“No, but it was new. And warm.”

Touga’s face lightened at that information and Kagome knew she was onto something.

“It’s real,” she murmured, just waiting for them to confirm she truly wasn’t going crazy. “The barrier is weakening and Kouga is finding his way through and Kagura is trying to fight him off.”

“And what are you doing?” he asked quietly.

“Helping Kouga.”

“Helping Kouga defeat Kagura?”

“Helping Kouga take his form and keep it after the full moon.”

His lips twitched, but there was no smile on his face. “Are you prepared for what that will take?”

“How?” she asked quickly. “We haven’t found any stories that explain how it’s done and Kouga said it’s been so long, he can’t remember either.”

“Are you prepared?” he repeated.

“What do I have to do?”

“Kagome.” Touga’s face was serious, his eyes boring into hers as he refused to give her the answer she sought. “Are you prepared to do what it takes to give Kouga permanent form?”

Answer first, he was saying. It was obvious now. Touga never wasted words and asking the same question three times was something she’d never heard him do before.

What could this possibly entail that would have Touga pressing this?

Nodding, she gave her answer without blinking. “Yes. I am.”

“You and Inuyasha really are over.”

There was no question in his tone, but she had a feeling this was a new revelation for him. And that didn’t make sense at all. Why would anyone think they weren’t over after what happened? “Yes,” she answered anyway, a question in her tone. “I thought that was made obvious when we broke up.”

“It was,” Touga fell back in his seat, stretching out his long legs around the coffee table. “His mother didn’t want to accept it.”

That implication gave her a lot of questions she didn’t want to get into. A couple months ago, it would have given her hope. Now? It felt like pulling at the edges of something over and done and it ached with every tug. Kagome had moved on. Maybe they could be friends again one day, but she wasn’t going to think they would reignite what they had.

She didn’t know how to respond, though. She didn’t want to dismiss Izayoi’s feelings, but she also didn’t want to step foot near that conversation. So instead of asking the questions whirling in her mind, she went back to what she needed to know. “What does helping Kouga entail?”

“He has to create a bond here and Kagura has to lose hers,” Myouga answered this one. “They can’t both be on this side, else one of them really will die and the world will fall out of order.”

“Has this happened before?” Miroku asked. “We thought speaking to one who has already built a bridge through dreams would be able to tell us more about what Kagome has to do.”

“That’s for Kagome and Kouga to figure out.” Touga’s answer was surprisingly hard and Kagome wondered what Touga was hiding with that. “That’s not the issue right now, though. It doesn’t matter what you do with Kouga as long as Kagura is wrapped up in this world.”

“But what is Kagura tied to?” Kagome asked. “We only know she’s an incarnation.”

Touga’s eyes gleamed at Kagome, prompting her to continue that line of thought.

“Is it Naraku? Is her bond in this world Naraku?”

“That,” Touga turned back to Miroku, the man unmoving under the weighted gaze, “is for you to find out. Kagome will take care of Kouga, but if Kagura’s invading your dreams, then only you have the ability to find out what’s keeping her here.”

…

Kagome felt his presence when he appeared in her bedroom, opening her eyes to see Kouga’s dark silhouette pulling the leather strip from his hair.

“I hope you’re not wearing anything under there,” he said in a low, silky voice as he began stepping out of whatever he was wearing. “Though it’s been a while since I’ve shredded clothing with my claws.”

She shivered at the imagery, her thighs tingling at the expanse of skin and muscle he exposed. She could barely see him, but each movement brought out different shadows and all she could remember was her growing itch to trace down his torso with her tongue.

His eyes dropped to her hands holding the sheet over her body and there was a touch of softness in his answering grin. “Don’t get nervous now.” Kouga approached the bed, crawling over it and gently closing one hand over hers. “We made a deal.”

Kagome wet her dry lips with her tongue, not bothering to correct his assumption. Instead she released her grip on the sheet, watching a fang poke out from under his lip as his grin widened. But rather than strip it off the bed, he slid under the sheet with her. The touch of his body was a warm shock and she moved toward him immediately, soaking in the feel of him against her. His hands were on her instantly, adjusting her on the mattress to his liking as he settled next to her, as much skin pressing against her as possible.

“Did anything happen today?”

The question surprised her. She thought he would jump straight into their deal. “I changed the locks on my windows,” she answered. “It should help keep her out.”

“I noticed.” His rough hand slid over her hip and down her thigh, gripping behind her knee to pull it over his hip. “It feels quieter.”

“I also learned she’s been visiting a friend’s dreams.” Kagome could barely focus on what she was saying, his fingers rubbing circles just under the curve of her ass. It wouldn’t take much for him to shift and dip those fingers through her increasingly wet slit. “She tried to convince him that you’re dragging me into danger.”

“She’s not wrong,” came the soft answer as he ran his nose down her neck. “You’re wrapped up in this now.”

“But _you’re_ not the danger, right?”

His teeth pricked her skin, sending a jolt down her body that had her arching her hips against his. “Depends on what you define as danger.”

She rolled her eyes at the comment. “Do you take anything seriously?”

“Of course.” His fingers moved, ghosting over the crease of her ass. “I take learning your body very seriously.”

She shifted her leg higher up his hip, offering his hand more room. “We also learned we have to sever Kagura’s tie to this world in order to banish her to the other side.”

“That’s good to know.” He teased over the curve of her ass again, his lips skimming down to her shoulder. “Where did you learn that?”

“Touga’s my ex’s dad. I didn’t know he was Albari until today.”

Kouga’s body froze, his movements coming to an immediate stop. “His name is Touga?”

Kagome blinked in the darkness. “Uh, yeah?”

“Tall, silver hair, gold eyes, deep voice?”

She pulled back, meeting his eyes through the shadows. “How did you know.”

“Touga’s a _darjana_ ,” Kouga breathed out. “He crossed over thirty years ago.”

She jerked up in bed, not believing what she was hearing. “ _What_?”

His eyes dipped down, watching her breasts bounce with her movements. “Your ex’s dad, huh?” Kouga nipped at the side of her breast, apparently not taking this news the same she had. “I can’t believe the stories are true. Son of a bitch must know exactly how to take permanent form.”

“ _None_ of these stories were supposed to be true.”

He grinned, the press of teeth against tender skin causing Kagome’s heartbeat to pick up. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her down, moving until she was on her back under him, his large body crowding her down into the mattress. “Finally,” he sighed, propping himself up on his elbows. “I like you there.”

She thumped a fist half-heartedly against his hard chest. “Touga’s a _darjana_ ,” she repeated. “I have to talk to him and figure out how he got over here.”

But she couldn’t move, Kouga dropping his weight and pinning her right there to the bed. “You really don’t like distractions, do you?” He nipped her lip when she went to answer. “It’s the middle of the night. You’re sleeping. And if you try to get out of this bed before I learn every single inch of you, I’m going to use the sheets to tie you to it.”

Her hips twitched at his threat and he moved, keeping her from grinding against him.

“Oh no,” he murmured, using his thighs to pin hers to the bed, “you got yours.”

Kagome laughed at the reminder, loving how he played with her. The tease, the demands, way he consumed her thoughts, it was absolutely perfect. “Playing it that way, are you?” She placed her palms on his chest, mapping out the contours before sliding them down his torso. Her fingers traced through the dips, watching him closely as his breath stuttered and his eyes cast a dim, blue glow. The line of his hip was stark and she couldn’t resist tracing it up and down a couple times. “I want to lick this.”

That glow increased, his hips trembling under her touch. Finally, she curled one hand around his cock, the length much larger than she could hold. It didn’t stop her from trying, sizing him with her hands from the base up toward the tip, fingers tracing over each line and ridge she could find.

“You think this is going to fit in me?” she asked, tightening her grip and tugging just under the flared head.

“I know it will,” he answered, thrusting through her hands. “You’re going to stretch over me beautifully.”

The power in each thrust letting her stroke him from tip to base and back was mouthwatering. She could only imagine what that would feel like inside her, parting her muscles and forcing her to take every thick inch.

She wanted to see him. The urge was instant and strong and she pulled a hand away to press against his chest. He didn’t move at first, his gaze quiet as he watched her, then slowly let her push him up on his knees. She didn’t waste a second flicking on the lamp next to her bed.

The sheet fell with him, bunching over his bent legs as she finally looked at him. Kouga was massive, just as large as she remembered from her dream the night before. But seeing his muscles, how his skin stretched across his chest, how his waist tapered to lean hips that turned into powerful thighs, all surrounding his impossibly thick length jutting out over her stomach — her skin tingled at the sight.

Kagome was moving before she realized it, curling up to press her lips to the center of his chest as her hand started slowly pumping his shaft again. Her tongue flicked out to taste him, moving as far down his body as she could in her current position. When she couldn’t go any further, Kouga shifted, landing the flared tip of his cock inches away from her lips.

God, she wanted this so bad and from the blue glow coming from Kouga’s eyes, he wanted it, too. She licked him first, gathering the leaking fluid from his slit on the tip of her tongue, the tangy taste exploding as she swallowed it down. Kouga’s hips pulsed again, but didn’t thrust, and she rewarded his restraint by sucking the plush head into her mouth.

It wasn’t enough. She needed to taste more, she needed to hear him grunt above her, feel him tense and thrust and tighten as he came. She needed to know what this man looked like in the middle of the first orgasm she gave him and she knew just where to start to get it.

He was so big, she could barely stretch her jaw wide enough to take him in, but she did. Licking and sucking and mapping out what she could with her tongue, she let her hands reach what her mouth couldn’t. Her rhythm wasn’t fast, but it was steady, listening for all his cues that she found the right spot, the right pressure, the right suction.

Claws threaded through her hair, his hands palming her scalp as a warning before his hips moved. He took over her rhythm in an instant, pulling out before pushing slowly in, seeing how far he could go. He pressed further than she could take and her eyes burned with tears at the sting. Kagome didn’t fight him, her heart racing as he stared down at her and took control.

“Fuck,” he groaned sliding out until the tip of his cock sat on her tongue. He pushed back in, coasting up and down her tongue while her hands moved over what couldn’t fit in her mouth. “You have no idea how sexy that is.”

She moaned, her breasts tightening and her clit aching for relief, but she ignored them. Her focus was on Kouga, watching him watch her. One of her hands slid down to cup his balls as he increased the pace, his breathing coming out in harsh pants as she sucked on him, tasted him, let him control the pace, the depth, everything. He loved testing her limit, watching her eyes water as he pressed deeper, his cock twitching on her tongue when he pulled back to let her relax. He gave her time, continuing the rhythm until trying again, always giving her time to recover between.

When he thrust in hard, his chest moving under his breaths, and a single tear escaped, Kouga groaned out a long, low, guttural sound. Her thighs shifted under him, her clit _ached_ , and Kagome couldn’t remember if she’d ever been this hot for someone.

“You’ll let me do anything to you, won’t you,” he murmured, his gaze tracking the tear as it fell down her cheek.

Kagome could only nod in return, her tongue caressing his shaft and her hands caressing what she couldn’t fit. She didn’t know how long he held it, her body warring with itself over the position. She could barely breathe, his cock pushed up against the entrance to her throat, but she was so wet, so aroused, so incredibly turned on, she didn’t care. All she could think of was pleasing this man.

His hips stuttered into a new rhythm, harder and faster, but not nearly as deep. His grip in her hair tightened, the light illuminating his body when he abruptly slowed down.

“Open, tongue out,” he demanded, his voice taut until she complied. One hand gripped over hers and tightened, pumping it along his shaft until the first spurt of come hit her tongue. Watching him, she held that as he came, her body strung tight as she felt him pulse under her hand before he pushed into her mouth. She closed her lips over his softening length, sucking out the last bit from him as she swallowed every drop, his harsh pants and growls fuel for the slickness between her thighs

He barely slipped out of her mouth before he was pushing her back on the bed. His hands gripped her thighs, spread them as far apart as they would go and he ruthlessly captured her clit in his mouth and sucked.

Her orgasm was instant, a sudden wave of pleasure pulsing up her body. Each movement of his mouth ripped more from her, her cries bouncing off the walls as she writhed on the bed. Kagome couldn’t remember a time she felt more than this, was so consumed in what her partner was doing to her, she could barely think. Her skin tingled as the waves slowly ebbed away, his pressure softening until she was lying boneless against the sheets.

“What…”

“Don’t act surprised,” he murmured into her belly as he slowly kissed up her torso. “There was no way I wasn’t tasting you again.”

“But—”

“Besides,” he needled his teeth into her neck, “that’s another preview for next time.”

“Next time?”

Kagome almost shied away from his kiss, still tasting him in her mouth, but Kouga wasn’t having it. Holding her jaw with his hand, he coaxed her mouth open, not stopping until his tongue was gliding along hers in a sinuous repetition of what his cock had done.

“As much as I want to take you,” he said in his low, husky voice, “I’m running out of time.”

“You’ll be back tomorrow?”

He kissed her again, gentle this time, sipping at her lips until she felt the first waves of sleep tug over her. “Nothing could keep me away.”

Her sheets were twisted on the bed when she woke, her body languid and loose, and her window still locked. Kagome reached over to turn off her light, knowing she still had a few more hours left before she had to get up. She’d get as much sleep as she could, talk to Kaede about what was going on, and then find Touga.

If Touga really was _darjana_ , he would know exactly how to help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be taking a break next week for Thanksgiving and continue posting the next Friday. Have a lovely holiday (or weekend, for non-US readers)!


	5. Chapter 5

The office was quiet when Kagome arrived the next morning. Luckily, she was early, though it was a close one considering how she ran out of her house that morning. Nothing like no traffic and the subway waiting for her when she reached the station to make up for lost minutes looking for her socks.

Her purse went into the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, her phone into the top drawer of her desk, and she shrugged off her coat to hang on the wall with the rest of the employee coats. She’d have to step out for lunch, but that was the least of her worries — her desk was a mess. A stack of paperwork filled her in-box and a small pile was sitting next to it. Considering how she ran out at lunch the day before to meet Miroku at her house, she wasn’t surprised. They were in the first month of the new budget and preparing for the busy holiday season and this was not the best week to take a mental vacation.

Dropping down in her office chair, she logged into her computer and opened her email. It would be the best place to start, figure out how today’s tasks would line up in terms of priorities and then she could start slogging through.

She wasn’t even through the second email before Kaede spoke in the room. “Kagome, would you come to my office please?”

Grimacing, she locked her screen and made her way toward her boss’s office, knowing this wasn’t going to be a great conversation. She’d have to figure out a way to keep up her productivity if she wanted to remain unnoticed for the next month — and definitely no more random half-days. Kaede might have been incredibly lenient during the breakup, but that didn’t mean she would let her employees walk all over her.

“Close the door behind you,” Kaede said when Kagome walked in, another warning for what was to come.

Kagome did as she was asked and sat, mentally preparing her defense. She was a valuable employee and she had to make sure this was the last slip up for the year.

“Let’s get right to the point,” her boss began and Kagome took a deep breath, “an old friend contacted me last night to discuss what you’ve been getting up to.”

She blinked. What she’s been getting up to? Related to work? She could think of nothing.

“You’re not in trouble,” Kaede offered a passing reassurance, “but this is a serious matter. Myouga was worried—”

“ _Myouga?_ ” Kagome blew out a sigh of relief. “This has to do with the wall?”

Kaede’s gaze was sharp, not at all pleased with the interruption. “Yes.”

“Are you Albari, too?” At Kaede’s worsening glare, Kagome backtracked. “I’m sorry, this isn’t what I expected at all.”

Kaede waited for another interruption and when none came, her expression eased into one Kagome recognized. “No, I’m not, but my sister has a long history with the legends.”

Kagome couldn’t believe her ears. Such an incredibly small world.

“Myouga had a few questions about you. It seems you have attracted the attention of the wolf spirit, correct?”

She nodded, utterly entranced at Kaede’s directness. How easy this would be if she got all of her questions answered so succinctly.

“This won’t end until the full moon is over, so I’m giving you the rest of the week off.”

Surely she just misheard her boss. “What?”

“If you’re having dreams, you’re not going to be productive here,” Kaede explained. “You’re running on adrenaline right now, but your lack of sleep is going to catch up to you.”

“Lack of sleep?”

“Those dreams aren’t really dreams. You’re asleep to facilitate them, but you’re not resting while they’re occurring. You’ll need to make up for that missed sleep throughout the day and I don’t want to fix mistakes made from sleep deprivation.”

It made sense, in a way. She felt the effects from the dreams each morning she woke up, but it was still a shock to hear. Especially from her _boss._

“Now, Myouga said Kagura was visiting your friend.”

Kagome nodded.

“Then your friend is going to have to look into Naraku.”

“The demon of greed?”

“Kagura is an incarnation of Naraku. To find a way to defeat Kagura, you must start with how she was created.”

“Wouldn’t that just invite Naraku into our dreams?” she asked. “We already have two, I don’t know that I can handle another.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Kaede waved the concern aside. “Naraku has his own battles to deal with. He won’t be invading your dreams.”

Kagome wasn’t convinced. Kagura might have been in Miroku’s dream, but she still had the time to chase Kouga when she could. What would keep Naraku away, especially if he had a hand in the initial war to begin with?

“My sister was about your age when she was pulled into the legends,” Kaede continued, her expression softening as she revisited what appeared to be a fond memory. “We were chasing stories through the woods one day and came across an old relic. Albari legends say it represented a tomb. It wasn’t long after that Naraku turned his eye onto her.”

The melancholy in Kaede’s tone spoke much more than her words. Kagome’s heart twinged at the thought of what that sadness buried. “What happened?” she asked softly.

“Kikyo fought him,” came the simple answer, “and in doing so, trapped herself in an eternal war with the demon of greed.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, no need to be sorry.” Kaede’s face brightened even with the heaviness lingering on the air. “Kikyo lives a happy life. It took a few years, but she finally gained the upper hand in her war. She has no intention of destroying Naraku, as demons of his ilk will always find new ways to return, but she has learned the game and keeps him on his toes.

“That’s why Myouga called me.” Kaede’s fingers tapped on her desk, drawing Kagome’s gaze to a photo of two young girls smiling at the camera. “I gave Kikyo a call last night and she’s agreed to keep Naraku busy while you deal with Kagura.”

“Divide and conquer,” Kagome murmured, already thinking of what this would mean for her and Miroku. They now had another area to research. “I was told that it’s up to my friend to defeat Kagura. Is this true?”

“You can help,” came a relieving answer, “but your friend will learn more easily. If he’s able to talk to Kagura, he has a better chance of finding what ties her to this world.”

“And until then, we look into Naraku?”

Kaede nodded. “Kagura was his first incarnation and while he’s a demon of greed, he carries an exponential amount of pride. I wouldn’t be surprised if he overlooked something when creating her.”

Kagome made a note. First the wall, then _darjana_ , and now Naraku. How many stories were wrapped up in this one mystery?

“When doing your research,” Kaede added, “don’t forget what _you’re_ supposed to be looking into, either.”

“Do you know anything of the _darjana_?” she asked, taking a chance. Kaede already knew more than Kagome could have ever guessed, she might as well see what else the woman might know. “Or how they take form?”

“I can say they have to create a bond over here to keep from being pulled back through the barrier, something to anchor them.” Kaede glanced at her computer screen, dismissing whatever notification popped up. “And since you are the one who created the path, you’re going to have to find his anchor.”

Kagome thought over her next question, not sure it was smart to go blabbing that information to anyone. But if Kaede knew Myouga and knew of Naraku and knew about _darjana_ , then surely she might know this?

“Ask your question.”

That brought out a smile. Her boss always seemed to see right through her. “Touga did it, right? Touga found his anchor.”

Kaede smiled. “You have a place to start.”

“Why doesn’t anyone just _tell_ me?!”

Her whine got her a laugh and just like that, Kagome could see the younger sister in the photo shining in Kaede’s face. What else of that carefree girl echoed in the woman sitting in front of her now?

“If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.” A knock came from the door and Kaede stood from her chair, Kagome following her actions. “Officially, you’ll be working from home for the rest of the week. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you Monday morning, no matter what happens during the full moon.”

Kagome took her dismissal, some of the tension from the morning seeping away. That was one relief, not having to worry about work for the entire week. She owed Kaede a large wine basket for this.

“And Kagome?”

She turned in the doorway, intrigued by what else Kaede had to say to her.

“Be honest. You’ll get the best answers that way.”

…

Kagome stood frozen on the sidewalk, memories coursing through her at the familiar site before her. So many dinners, holidays, drop ins, conversations that happened in that living room, the back patio, in the kitchen, at the dining room table. Years of memories spanning from before they were dating to the week she’d slept in the guest bedroom after her lease ended and their new lease was starting.

It was a home she never thought she’d be walking into again and here she was, standing outside and talking herself into walking up the steps and knocking on the door.

_He’s not here_ , she reminded herself for the twelfth time as she pushed herself up the steps. He’s working and he only came by on weekends, so before lunch on a late Tuesday morning was the perfect time for her to drop in and see Touga without having to explain to her ex-boyfriend just why she was in his parents’ home.

Pulling in a deep breath, she grasped the door knocker and gave three sharp taps, knowing better than to dare try the doorbell. She made that mistake once before and could still hear the gong resounding down the street.

Touga joked that he always knew when a stranger was at the door because they wouldn’t know to knock instead.

Stepping away from the door, Kagome bit her bottom lip and waited as patiently as she could — which wasn’t all that patient. Her heel bounced on the step, her arms itched, and she fought more than once to keep from looking over her shoulder. No one would be watching her, waiting for the perfect moment to call Inuyasha and see what she was doing. It was ridiculous to even think so, but it didn’t stop the nerves from making her jumpy.

The door opened and a shorter woman about Kagome’s height smiled at her in warmth. “Kagome,” Izayoi gushed, pulling her into a hug immediately, “it’s so good to see you.”

She couldn’t help but return the embrace and it felt good. Maybe this was hope that she wouldn’t be an outcast after growing so close to the family over the years. “It’s good to see you too, Izayoi.”

“Touga was telling me last night he thought you would be dropping by,” the older woman was saying as she stepped back and let Kagome inside the house. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up that it would be so soon.”

_Huh_. That was an interesting turn of events. Touga knew exactly what her conversation with Kouga would lead her to. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, letting Izayoi take her coat as she bent to slide off her shoes.

“Nonsense. You’re welcome here anytime.” Izayoi was moving down the foyer, motioning Kagome to follow her. “I was just about to put on some coffee, would you like some?”

“Yes, please.” She knew better than to refuse that gracious offer. Izayoi made some of the best coffee Kagome had ever tasted. She’d tried more than once to replicate the process, but it never tasted near as good. “How have you been?”

“Good, all thing’s considered,” came the answer through the archway into the kitchen. “My family’s been a headache, what with the holidays coming up. My parents’ sixtieth anniversary is in the spring and they’re throwing an appropriate gala in celebration.”

Kagome winced at what they would consider ‘appropriate’. Izayoi came from _old_ money, though you’d never know it talking to the woman. She was warm and welcoming to anyone who came in her home no matter what they looked like or how much money they made. It was always jarring to speak with her parents and the rest of her extended family when Izayoi’s own little family acted so very different.

Not that they didn’t have their own wealth, but they had a much more modest way of showing it.

“I’m sure that’s going to be an event,” Kagome said as she entered the kitchen and made her way to take a seat at the bar. “Are they wanting to rent out their normal ballroom?”

“Oh no, that would be _expected_.” Izayoi rolled her eyes as she measured the coffee beans into the grinder. “They want to host it on their estate up north. My mother has already talked to her PA about renting out the surrounding cabins for the week so their guests can stay comfortably which is why I’m hearing about this _now_ instead of after the new year.”

Just the thought of it sounded exhausting. Her breakup with Inuyasha might not have been something she saw coming, but it might have been the best timing if it meant getting to miss that particular extravaganza.

“At least it won’t be in the city,” Kagome offered, finding some type of silver lining in the mess. “You won’t have to host them for every planning meeting they schedule.”

Izayoi laughed, transferring the fresh grounds to a French press as she flicked on the electric kettle. “That is something to be grateful for.” It didn’t take long for the kettle to finish — they had an _amazing_ kettle, one Kagome wanted every time she was reminded of its existence — and soon, Izayoi was pouring the hot water over the coffee grounds.

“Alright, now while we wait for that to brew,” Izayoi returned the kettle to its stand and smiled at Kagome, “tell me what brought you over today.”

“I was hoping to catch Touga,” she answered hesitantly. “I had a few more questions to ask him after what we spoke about yesterday.”

“About the barrier?”

She should have known. Touga would never keep something like that from his wife. “That and what exactly he knows about the _darjana_.”

“What makes you think he knows more?” Izayoi’s face was unnaturally blank, giving her away immediately. She was too expressive — whenever she shut her expressions off, it was an obvious tell that she was lying, or trying to at least.

“Because he’s a _darjana_ ,” Kagome answered honestly. “And you know more, too, don’t you?”

Izayoi’s smile was full of a subtle mischief, far more quiet than anything her husband or son could pull off. “Maybe a little.” She checked the clock on the stove, then stirred the coffee grounds before grabbing the plunger. “He said you garnered a _darjana_ of your own.”

The woman was fishing and like everything else, wore her intentions on her sleeve. “I did. He’s visited four times now.”

“Four?” Izayoi shot her a telling look. “Those must be some memorable dreams if he’s already on number four.”

“Touga visited your dreams?” Kagome asked, taking a shot in the dark. “Or did you meet him after he took form?”

“She’s the one who helped me cross over,” Touga’s voice came from the other side of the kitchen as he walked in. The man must have been hiding in the den and waiting for an opportune time to show up.

“There you are.” Izayoi didn’t look the least bit surprised as she pulled three mugs down from the cabinet. “I was starting to worry you were going to miss coffee.”

“I’m not an idiot,” came the good natured response, one Kagome had heard before. The routine banter sent a pang through her heart. Touga moved into the kitchen and pressed a kiss to Izayoi’s hair before pulling containers from the fridge. “You still prefer creamer, Kagome?”

“Yes, please.”

He nodded, offering Izayoi creamer for Kagome’s cup and milk for his own. Izayoi kept hers black, letting it cool as she cleaned out the press. Kagome waited patiently, not fighting the tugs of emotion at the scene. She loved this family, they’d taken her in when she first struggled in the city so far from her own. It sucked that she lost more than a boyfriend when they broke up.

“Come on,” Touga invited, taking his cup and heading back toward the den. “Might as well be comfortable while having this conversation.”

She followed with her own mug, taking a seat in her preferred spot on the love seat next to the bookcases that looked up at the decorative art they had crawling up the tall, back wall. The ceiling vaulted up in this room, the second floor looking over the back of the house, and Kagome always loved sitting there, able to see the expanse of the room before her.

Izayoi joined shortly with her coffee and elegantly slid onto the couch next to Touga.

“We can’t tell you what you want to know,” Touga said before Kagome could ask anything, her heart sinking at the words. “We can answer some of your questions and we’ll help where we can, but you and Kouga have to figure out his crossing for yourselves.”

There went that idea. It should have been easy — spend an hour or two talking to them, relay the information in tonight’s dream, help Miroku, and then by Halloween, she’d have a real, physical Kouga standing in her home.

Where things went from there, she didn’t know, but that was a conversation for another day.

“You’re on the right track,” Izayoi offered quietly. “Four visits is a good step. Has he stayed longer each time?”

“Yes,” Kagome answered slowly, thinking back through the dreams, “at least, I think so. Kagura chased him off the first three nights, but I don’t know why he left when he did last night.”

“He needs the energy to make it back,” Touga answered between sips of his coffee. “It’s taxing to make the journey and if he gets stuck in between, he’ll be trapped.”

Kagome studied that information, turning it around in her head to measure how it felt. Not once had she considered what Kouga’s visits consisted of. How would that work at all?

“The closer we get to the full moon, the safer he’ll be,” he continued. “It’s the first few trips that are most dangerous, but by now there’s a worn path. He can travel quicker.”

“So it’s an actual movement?” Kagome asked. “He doesn’t just appear?”

Touga shook his head, adjusting to lay one arm across the back of the couch. “Each path is different, but it’s not a magic trick.”

“It seems like that to you,” Izayoi added, “because you can’t see him until he’s arrived.”

She nodded, thinking over Kouga’s appearance. Each time, she didn’t ‘wake up’ until he was in her room — or living room. It was only the first night that she didn’t know his actual arrival, but with everything so murky, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was how it started.

“Does he know anything about Kagura’s bond here?”

Kagome stilled, all thoughts ceasing at the unexpected question. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I… We haven’t talked about that yet.” They barely _talked_ and when they did, Kagura’s bond wasn’t high on the list of priorities. “He knows how to watch out for her, he noticed the new window locks I added to the house yesterday, and I’ve told him that we’re trying to track that down, but…”

“It hasn’t come up,” Izayoi finished, a knowing laugh in her words. “I remember what that was like.”

Heat flared up Kagome’s neck and she fought desperately to keep from blushing. Was it possible they had the same experience she was currently having? How mortifying would that be. Though judging from the look Touga and Izayoi just shared, it was looking to be more likely.

“Ask him about that,” Touga rumbled. “See what he knows. Considering what the stories say, she picked the fight with him, but no one knows why. Kouga might.”

That was something she could do. Miroku was trying to see what he could learn from his side of things, but she hadn’t considered asking Kouga for the truth behind the legend.

Kagome drained the rest of her coffee and considered what else she wanted to ask. The big mysteries still floating around were ones they already said they couldn’t help with, no matter how important that information was. And while she suspected they knew what she wanted to know, she also knew they wouldn’t give away anything they didn’t want to.

“We don’t mean to run you off,” Izayoi said quietly, “but our son is stopping by for lunch. We invited him last night to discuss his potential promotion. If you want to miss him, you should probably leave now.”

“Thank you.” Kagome rose quickly, empty mug in hand. “The coffee was lovely and it was good to talk to you.”

“You’re welcome to stop by any time you need to,” the other woman added, her voice welcoming. “It’ll be nice to talk to someone else who’s living through their own _darjana_.”

“I might take you up on that. We have a lot of things to figure out and not a whole lot of time.”

“You’ll get it,” Touga said. “It might not be easy, but it’ll work out.” He stood, leaving Izayoi on the couch as he walked Kagome through the kitchen and to the front door. “Don’t be a stranger,” he said as he opened the door for her. “We miss having you around.”

Kagome gave him a smile, but his own was wry and telling.

“I mean it,” he pressed. “I’m sure you’ll have more questions and you should be safe to ask them.”

“Thank you, Touga. I’ll call before coming.”

“We’ll be waiting.”

…

Sango was solemn when Kagome arrived at their house that afternoon. It didn’t fit. It was the week of Halloween and night two of three that they didn’t have an event going on. Sango was usually answering questions on social media, tweaking last minute decor touches, confirming reservations and volunteers, and loving every minute of it. The stress lining her face and weighing her shoulders was completely new.

“This wasn’t supposed to be real,” her friend said after sitting on the couch in the back den. “They were just a bunch of fake stories.”

Kagome didn’t say anything — she knew this was coming. It wasn’t what she expected, but given what happened, she couldn’t say it was all too surprising.

“We didn’t talk about it much at first.” Sango grabbed one of the blankets she had tossed over the cushions and laid it over her lap. “I’ve been focused on this haunted house when not at work and Miroku didn’t want to add any more to that.”

When she didn’t continue, Kagome took pity. “The dreams?”

“Those dreams are real.”

Kagome nodded when Sango looked at her for confirmation.

“I don’t know what to do,” the truth came out in a rush. “I can’t help him when it’s in his dreams. I don’t know anything about the Albari or the stories or anything, and now he can’t even sleep without being attacked.”

“Attacked?”

She waved off Kagome’s panic. “Not physical attacks, just personal ones. Trying to paint you as a crazy nut job we need to rescue which is bullshit. She’s trying too hard. And while I want to believe you both have lost your damn minds, there are too many things going on for them all to be coincidences.”

“What happened, Sango?” Kagome asked quietly. “If you’re getting pulled in, it’s more than just dreams.”

Sango blew out a sigh, but didn’t say anything. Kagome let her have her moment, let her think through whatever she was dealing with. This was a lot to take in and Sango had been the most skeptic out of all of them.

“We’re not completely sure, but we have a guess.” Sango ran her hand through her hair then twisted it up in an effortless bun that she stabbed a pencil through to keep it up. “Kouga’s a _darjana_. He doesn’t currently exist on earth, so he can only move in dreams. Kagura’s here on this side of the wall, so she _does_ exist. She might be speaking through Miroku’s dreams, but she has a presence.”

“Is she getting through your windows, too?”

“I woke up to our bedroom window completely open and the wind trying to tear our curtains off. It was awful. I had to jerk Miroku awake to help me slam it shut and lock it, and even then we had a hard time keeping it closed. He went out this morning and bought new locks and I’ve been installing them all afternoon.”

“I’m so sorry, Sango.” Kagome’s throat closed at what she brought to their doorstep. “I didn’t mean to drag you guys into this.”

“This isn’t your fault,” her friend shot back immediately, her tone hard and unyielding. “We all poked our noses in on our own accord. _You’re_ not the one trying to tear our windows off at night.”

“Still.”

“No,” Sango stressed, completely adamant with what she was saying. “You don’t get to take the blame for other people’s actions. We’re not blaming you and I’m not going to let you blame yourself. We’re all in this and we’re not going to let you go about it alone.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m damn sure.”

Sango was serious. She wasn’t backing down and Kagome knew her well enough to know she meant every word she said. It was hard not to blame herself for causing this mess, but Kagome let it slide for now. They had other things to focus on.

“Miroku should be home soon,” Sango continued, moving back toward the initial reason Kagome was there. “He has some new information on what happened last night.”

“I learned things, too.”

“Well, hold onto that until he gets here.” Sango shot her a pointed look and Kagome knew what was coming next. “I’m more interested in you having a man in your dreams and you haven’t told me.”

“I didn’t know it was real—”

“Real or not, that doesn’t explain the blush you have every time it comes up.”

_Shoot_. She’d never been able to keep anything from Sango.

“Tell me,” her friend urged her, “and don’t leave anything out.”


End file.
